


Just my luck

by deffsouls



Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 02:45:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10066961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deffsouls/pseuds/deffsouls
Summary: Jaebum has one certainty in his life: fortune-tellers are the worst. In the day he was forced by Jinyoung to have his future predicted by a weird guy, what he heard didn’t affect him at all. Until then it was impossible for such a successful lawyer to get played by destiny, but the universe would prove he was wrong. And would do it in the most unusual way.“Pay attention to every single thing around you from now on. Sometimes the big picture can be completely changed because of the littlest details left unnoticed.”





	1. Be careful what you wish for

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! 
> 
> I'm Nana (@markjino on twitter if you wanna be friends), idk how introduce this bc I wanna make it short but I finally decided to post my fanfics here on AO3. They can also be found on a brazilian website called SocialSpirit and on AsianFanfics, so if you see anything there, don't worry, it's a work of mine.  
> Also I might add English isn't my first language so if you see any mistakes or if anything sounds weird, let me know! ^^;  
> Have a nice reading! 
> 
> BUT FIRST, SOME THINGS YOU MIGHT WANNA KNOW:
> 
> \- This fic has side couples: Markjin and Jackbam;  
> \- There are going to be slurs, the term "gypsy" is used a lot in a offensive way;  
> \- Drug use (only alcohol though);  
> \- SMUT!!!

That monologue would always be repeated over and over again; the one about significance of time management in the life of a successful lawyer. He was sure he had repeated it at least a _hundred_ of times to Jinyoung, always reassuring that his financial income wouldn’t be the same if he didn’t planned each millisecond of his day to make sure his tasks would be completed perfectly.

 

You know, judicial processes have deadlines. An amount of time is given to collect evidences, put them together, fill petitions, give responses and, finally, wait for a sentence. Things get easier if you can predict what’s going to happen and act as fast as you can. Judicial world can be tricky as it regards human relations and, like in a chess game, the one who can say what’s going to be the opponent’s next move is the winner.

 

Jaebum had always been good at this. He was the rational type.

 

Maybe _too much_ of a rational, as Jinyoung would usually put, but certainly that trait was what contrasted himself from those lazy-ass lawyers whom he despised so much. He didn’t care the great amount of work that could made him faint from tiredness by the end of the day, the routine he had to follow strictly nor living in a very peculiar way because, well, at least he was making money.

 

Although there are those who say money can’t bring happiness, it’s certainly the easier way to achieve it.

 

Jaebum was the living proof of that and you can bet he _loved_ money. He wouldn’t be such a greedy lawyer if that kind of luxurious life didn’t attract him, but he could bet anyone would like to trade places with him.

 

Sure it was a lot of hard work, but by the end of the day all his bills were paid and there was still a lot of money to travel around the world.

 

Not that he had time to travel, of course. But he was happy walking that path: working, taking care of his adorable kitten Nora, eating at fancy restaurants and eventually having one-night stands that wouldn’t bother him the next day. He was a free 27-year-old man with a very large bank account. How could he ask for more?

 

He didn’t know if there was a God out there but, just in case he was real, maybe he should thank him for all those blessings.

 

The only problem about his lifestyle was his friend’s disapproval of it, especially Jinyoung. Maybe the latter being a kindergarten teacher affected his head badly - it’s easier to freak out when you’re constantly surrounded by little devils (also known as _children_ ) -, but that didn’t excuse the fact he fooled Jaebum inviting him to have lunch together and, instead, made the older go to see a fortune-teller.

 

As soon as they stepped a foot inside the place, the weirdness that surrounded it was already noticeable - and that was just the waiting room!.

 

A strong smell of cinammon incense was making Jaebum sneeze now and then; the place was claustrophobic to say the least. There were purple velvet curtains blocking the light coming from outside and the yellow lights inside definitely weren’t helping to lighten the room, instead they made it seem even more ancient than it actually was. There also were a lot of sparkling multi-colored mystic stones, weird paintings, books about tarot, astrology and witchcraft, dreamcatchers and even miniatures of collectible witches - a very unusual choice of decoration. It sure looked like an organized mess.

 

That visual pollution was unbearable to the point Jaebum wanted to stand up and start cleaning the bunch of old junks surrounding him, however, there was a big poster on the wall saying “ **Don’t touch anything! It will unbalance the chakras!** ”.

 

Pff. Those chakras certainly already were unbalanced by that chaotic mess. They should have been glad someone wanted to clean it up.

 

“I can’t believe you brought me to this kind of place, Jinyoung.” Jaebum grumbled unpleasantly, sounding really annoyed. “This isn’t going to be useful at all, the most I can do is sue this scammer for larceny.”

 

“Shut up, hyung.” Jinyoung furrowed his brows. They were the only ones there, however, the sculptures of hindu deities and Buddha seemed a bit judgemental with those badly-painted eyes following each of their movements. The younger didn’t want them mad because of his friend’s rudeness. “It’s my gift for you. This fortune-teller is one of the bests of Seoul… Maybe he can make you follow the right path for a change.”

 

“I am _already_ following the right path, Jinyoung!” The raven-haired widened his eyes in disbelief. “If I wasn’t, I’d probably become a gypsy.”

 

“It’s _fortune-teller_.”

 

“Whatever. The point is I don’t need someone to tell me some kind of mystic bullshit to induce a placebo effect or some weird stuff like that and make money of it. It’s completely stupid!”

 

“ _You’re_ the stupid one here.” Jinyoung pouted. Needless to say he went to those kind of places made to attract insecure people quite often, but obviously Jaebum would point this out in a more convenient moment. Besides he didn’t want to be punched before seeing the damned fortune-teller. “But I can understand because I used to be very skeptic as well… It’s just that sometimes you have to try something new, see what the universe has to tell you. It’s not going to kill you, okay? And if it doesn’t change your mind, it’s perfectly fine. No need to get all grumpy over this.”

 

“The only thing the universe has to tell me I already know, which is my life is the best I could ever have and there’s nothing to change.” Jaebum retorted with a pretentious smile.

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. The cards are unpredictable and hardly wrong. The readings I was most confident about were the ones that surprised me the most.”

 

“Well, I won’t argue with you anymore because I’m sure nothing will happen and I’ll prove it.” Jaebum was sure of he was saying. Nothing that _gypsy_ could say would be able to change any aspect of his life because that wasn’t how things worked. “But this reading better be fast because I have to meet someone later.”

 

“A date? With who?”

 

“It’s not a date, Jinyoungie. I’m going to meet a client. My favorite one.”

 

“That businesswoman that anticipates your payment?”

 

“The one and only. But now we’re gonna talk about her marriage agreement.”

 

Before Jinyoung could answer anything, a very peculiar figure entered the room hurriedly while drinking a cup of some kind of pink tea.

 

He was slim, fair-skinned, had a square face and brown hair mostly covered by a black hat. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt which, by the way, was very loose compared to his black tight jeans. There also were some very extravagant necklaces and shaky bracelets around his wrists making an awful noise. He looked like a post-modern _chic_ bohemian though he sounded like a rattle with all those ornaments. He should be about 25 years old, maybe less, it was hard to say with the bad light. Anyway, his looks were definitely stereotypical to a fortune-teller, but his style had some personal touches.

 

As he noticed the two guys waiting for him, his lips formed a wide smile so shiny it could make a clairvoyant go blind.

 

“Oh… What do we have here? A violet aura. So rare.” He said, gaze fixed at Jinyoung while he bowed politely. He did the same to Jaebum later. His voice was sweet and smooth. “And you’re dark blue. Skeptical, aren’t you? Did your violet friend brought you here?”

 

“You guys planned this?” The older asked confusingly. He didn’t understand a word that guy said, the violet and blue thing was too weird for him, but yes, he definitely was brought there by Jinyoung, though he had no clue how the fortune-teller found out. All he knew was his question made the guy giggle.

 

“I told you he was good!” Jinyoung smirked, poking his friend. Seems he was satisfied with the deductive reasoning of the brunette. “Nice to meet you. I’m Park Jinyoung and this is my friend, Im Jaebum.”

 

“I’m Choi Youngjae. It’s nice to have you guys here… And I’m sorry I’m late.” He paused briefly. “So, I suppose the one that came to see me is Jaebum-ssi? Your spiritual energy seems a bit negative. Have you been overworking yourself lately?”

 

“He sure has, Youngjae-ssi.” Jinyoung replied before Jaebum could try to disagree with that observation telling some lie. “I hope you can help him.”

 

“I sure can. Shall we?”

 

Jaebum nodded and stood up, following Youngjae through the room until they reached a door very well-hidden at the corner of the place. They entered an even smaller room with a round table and two chairs. There were more piles of weird things around him, candles and a crystal ball at the center of the table, which probably was just for show. However, what really caught Jaebum’s attention was the gigantic Stevie Nicks’ poster on the wall. She was Jinyoung’s favorite singer so the raven-haired knew her very well.

 

Her songs were garbage, though.

 

A sane person would _never_ go to a place like that but he was sure that gypsy was anything but normal. He looked like he came from a Harry Potter movie and definitely didn’t seem nice. He was a pretentious mr. Knows-it-all trying to convince people he could predict the future or bullshit like that, which was pretty much everything those mystic scammers did. Fooling around with people to take their money and run away.

 

Who invented that aura thing, though? Jaebum had never heard of it before. Until now all he got to see were a bunch of absurd lies that pissed him off. Actually, he only remained calm because although he was wasting time, he was not the one wasting money.

 

That kind of mediocre profession was what dignified his job as a lawyer. He had sued some swindlers in the past, maybe the current situation could make him earn some money as well.

 

Not that he only thought about money, but it seemed unfair to rule out that possibility.

 

The chair he sat was on the opposite side of Youngjae’s one. The latter took off his hat, setting his bangs free at last, letting them cover his forehead. Now that his face could be better seen he actually didn’t look that much like a hippie, actually, he was a pretty clean one. His face was sharp and he kept his rosy lips pouting while searching for his cards. He opened a wood box and took them out of there, unwrapping the silk fabric around them. It seemed like a ritual considering he was completely focused on doing that and took his time to finish it.

 

The fortune-telling thing wasn’t anything like the movies Jaebum used to watch. Youngjae asked him to pick his cards calmly and kept silent until he did, then he made an unusual arrangement with the cards and barely looked at the older in the process. There wasn’t a beautiful speech about how his life was going to meet a turning point, how the cards were very powerful nor about the twisting way destiny worked. Just comfortable silence.

 

It was so casual an outsider could think they were playing a memory game or something. However, when Youngjae turned the cards over and analyzed them it was clear it was not child’s play. It almost fooled Jaebum but then he remembered it was just pretending and the guy was just a scammer. Nice people would go to college or find a steady job instead of predicting the future for a living. That was something impossible to do, but damn, that Youngjae could be very convincing.

 

No wonder he was famous.

 

“Sorry I was keeping silent until now, it’s because your spiritual energy has to be catalysed so we can have an accurate reading. I didn’t want to interfere.” The younger started to explain as he took one card and held it, taking two more right after and leaving the rest on the table. “Anyway, I have some news that can make your blue aura go crazy, Jaebum-ssi.”

 

“What the hell is a blue aura, after all?” He asked, not able to handle his own curiosity.

 

“Dark-blue, in your case. That’s the aura of the most hardworking people, but they’re also stubborn and hot-tempered. They’re not fond of changes, but then, the _Fool_ appeared for you.” Youngjae showed the card that had a bizarre drawing and ‘The Fool’ written in a beautiful calligraphy. “That means chaos. This is a major arcana, meaning you will go through some major changes in the relationship field. You’ll face an unusual situation, an extremely intriguing one, I might say. You won’t even know how to deal with it since you’re used to use your head instead of your heart, a typical _Emperor_. People ruled by this card are hard-headed and selfish, so it’ll be difficult to notice the meaning behind things the Fool will show you. You’re going to fight back as much as you can, but, in the end, you’ll have to accept your fate is sealed. If you try to get away from it, you’ll keep coming back until you resign yourself. That’s what the _Star_ says. But don’t worry, Jaebum-ssi, as frightening as the Fool may seem, the Star will make the truth appear in a very tender way.”

 

Jaebum kept staring at the nothingness while Youngjae did the talking. He wasn’t sure he understood what the younger meant by that especially because instead of listening to him he just tried to figure out the drawings in the cards.

 

Well, it’s not like he missed anything important. None of those words even made sense.

 

There was no one that could interfere in his life that way, firstly because he’d never allow his relationships to be a hardship, secondly because he wasn’t one to go steady with someone - and he sure wouldn’t change that anytime soon. So unless Jinyoung, Jackson or Mark had a secret crush on him, he doubted someone new could enter his life and turn it upside down.

 

‘ _Such a scammer, this gypsy. It was too easy to find out._ ’ He smirked.

 

“So this is like one of those people that promise to bring back the loved ones in three days, hm?” He asked, arching his brows.

 

Youngjae chuckled at first, his answer was as sweet as his tone while he gazed at Jaebum, whom in the current situation was eager to finish the fortune-telling session and go somewhere else.

 

“It’s a lot more than that. This is about creating such a spiritual bond with someone that you’ll be forced to face your feelings because it’ll affect you in a way you’d never imagine. It’ll a journey of self-awareness for both. Your cards showed a very intriguing arrangement, Jaebum-ssi. Destiny is definitely trying to change your life, I knew it the moment I saw you.”

 

“Thanks for your analysis, but… There’s no one in my life that can take this position currently. And there will never be.” He stood up, fixing his clothes and bowing as he said goodbye to the scammer (oops, the fortune-teller). Then he turned around and walked towards the door.

 

“Pay attention to every single thing around you from now on.” Youngjae winked, sending shivers to Jaebum’s spine. _What a weirdo_. “Sometimes the big picture can be completely changed because of the littlest details left unnoticed.”

 

“Uh… I see. Right. Thanks.”

 

The older exited the claustrophobic room and took Jinyoung somewhere else. He could only conclude he wasted 30 minutes of his life, but at least the end of the day sailed smoothly and he was able to finish his tasks perfectly - as expected from someone so clever, right?

 

But even by the end of the day he simply couldn’t stop thinking about the predictions made by Youngjae.

 

Pff. That was so unreal. He knew that fortune-telling thing was lame, but he didn’t think it’d go this far. They simply spat out a bunch of bullshit to persuade you while trying to give you a hint of hope, only fools could fall for that. But Jaebum wasn’t a fool.

 

Relationships were a joke he’d laugh at, but never be a part of.

 

Until now.


	2. Night fever

The week passed quickly and, except for the fact Jaebum kept remembering that damn fortune-teller as if he had decided to haunt his dreams, everything  was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary, no new lovers nor divine intervention, just the usual great life, although now those unpleasant thoughts kept bothering him.

 

Luckily his weird obsession wasn’t that bad yet so it didn’t stop him from doing his work perfectly. It wasn’t that hard to deal with, but it certainly made him grumpier than usual.

 

And that was a _lot_ of grumpiness. He had always been bad-tempered, but it got worse. Not that it could be helped considering he wanted to scream everytime that gypsy’s smile lingered in his fantasies, refusing to go away once it was there.

 

He didn’t understand what was going inside his head. He had already confirmed the guy to be a scammer, so why was he _still_ filling his thoughts?

 

Maybe, if magic existed somewhere out there, he had been bewitched. It was a more acceptable possibility than having an actual interest in Choi Youngjae because, really, there was no way something like that would happen if it wasn’t for witchcraft.

 

Obviously Jaebum didn’t tell anything to Jinyoung as he didn’t want to be mocked for the rest of his life nor hear a pretentious “ _Told ya_ ” coming from his best friend, but it was hard to keep things to himself since that damned fortune-teller caught his attention. The only thing capable of calming him down was the fact he’d never have to see Youngjae again; it was just a matter of time until his face became unknown to the older again.

 

Jaebum wasn’t one to remind people’s features unless they were paying him, but, strangely, Youngjae’s face lingered vividly on his mind as if they had just seen each other. Sometimes his image would seem so real the raven-haired would wonder if he wasn’t hallucinating.

 

Maybe he had been high on incense since the day they met. Who knows what those gypsies could put in his purifying fragrances or whatever they call it.

 

But it was okay since he’d be able to forget everything that night. Alcohol was exactly what he needed to get rid of those thoughts.

 

He’d be meeting Jinyoung, Jackson and Mark at a recently-opened pub in the center of the city. Jaebum wasn’t expecting much since it was Jackson who arranged the meeting place and the latter tended to choose the worst neighborhoods so that the drinks would be cheaper, but at least it’d be somewhere to cool his head.

 

The raven-haired was the last one to arrive due to the amount of work he had to deal with that day. He had to confess the pub seemed very cozy and clean - it definitely didn’t look like a place Jackson would hang out.

 

“Woah. This doesn’t look like a shithole at all, Jackson-ah. Congrats.” Jaebum waved briefly at everyone then sat down in a chair.

 

“Guess what, hyung?” Jinyoung was the first one to talk ignoring the older’s stupid comment. The brunette had a smirk on his face that could only mean great news. “Jackson-hyung will introduce us his underage thai baby boy!”

 

Mark laughed soundly, intertwining fingers with Jinyoung. They were equally pleased with the situation while Jackson simple rolled his eyes as an answer.

 

“He’s three years younger than me, okay? _Three_. Stop trying to make me sound like an pedophile. Besides, he isn’t my baby boy. At least not yet.” The blond pouted. Jaebum could only think how people in love tended to act weird, they’d get embarrassed by the most irrelevant things. He was glad love didn’t exist in his personal world. “Please don’t scare him away.” Jackson pleaded knowing his friends could be extremely crazy when they wanted to.

 

“Who’d say someday Jackson Wang would be the one telling us to behave, huh?” Jinyoung sounded like a proud mother meeting her son’s date, making Jackson blush slightly. “That’s so cute.”

 

“What’s his name again?” Mark asked, resting his chin on Jinyoung’s shoulder. That kind of clinginess also wasn’t part of his personal world, which was indeed relieving. Public displays of affection would make him extremely uncomfortable.

 

“Kunpimook.” Jackson smiled. “He’s also bringing some friends, one of them is a DJ here on Saturdays. Yugyeom or something.”

 

Jinyoung seemed surprised.

 

“Is your boyfriend famous? How did he meet Yugyeom?”

 

“Nah.” Jackson shrugged. “As far as I know the three of them are childhood friends, but they have completely different personalities. I’ve met Yugyeom already, but Kunpi didn’t want to introduce the other one to me. He said the guy is very… Odd. I saw some pictures of him. His weirdness is no joke.” The blond grimaced.

 

“I’m so happy we’re going to meet _Kunpi_ ’s weird friends.” Jaebum mimicked the pet name Jackson used with his boyfriend, which made everyone laugh, including his target. However the situation was rather unpleasant. He didn’t like meeting new people, especially if they were a bunch of weirdos. “Maybe we’re gonna be the ones getting scared tonight.”

 

“JB-hyung, by the way…” Jackson turned to face him. “Please don’t stare at Kunpi with that scary look. I know that’s your normal look, but try to smile for a change, okay? I was talking specifically about you when I asked for you guys to behave.”

 

“Don’t worry, Wang. I’m not gonna make your little princess run away.”

 

Jackson felt tiny hand covering his eyes and everyone sitting at the table raised their gazes to analyze the slim figure behind their friend, followed by two other guys.

 

Jaebum had to admit Kunpimook looked indeed adorable. He had plump lips, big eyes and a endearing aura surrounding him, which made him seem pretty friendly. Besides, seeing how Jackson was smiling like an idiot, he could tell the tiny guy made his friend very happy.

 

It wasn’t typical of him to think nice things about someone at first sight, but that case was an exception.

 

His gaze then hovered on a tall boy with red hair. He looked intimidating, but not _odd_ , therefore he should be Yugyeom. He was wearing a leather jacket and there were big headphones hanging around his neck. That one certainly was the quiet type, just like a moody teenager, but then the other guy went behind him and made him smile brightly as their hands intertwined.

 

Jaebum, however, felt his throat go dry.

 

The odd friend whom Jackson was talking about was no more, no less than _Choi Youngjae_.

 

He was glowing, literally. There was a natural radiance coming from him that could make anyone daring to stare for long go blind. His eccentric clothing made his presence even more noticeable among those common people and, although he wasn’t wearing his black hat, he was still with those gypsy/hippie/bohemian clothes - whichever was the best adjective to describe the unusual style. His necklaces and earrings kept tingling and his laughter was so loud and adorable he caught everyone’s eyes.

 

Jaebum hated that feeling. He hated that loud and stupid guy making him stop everything he was doing just to look at him.

 

The worst part was meeting him again, out of all people. Not only did he keep lingering inside his head all those days, but also decided to appear in person, flesh and blood - if Jaebum wasn’t hallucinating.

 

“Guess who?” Kunpimook giggled, whispering next to his boyfriend’s ear, removing his hands from his eyes and smiling playfully. He gave him a quick peck on the lips afterwards. “These are Yugyeom and Youngjae.” He introduced his friends that seemed absorbed in their own worlds having an amusing conversation. They immediately looked at the people at the table.

 

Jinyoung obviously checked Jaebum’s expression to see if his eyes were still fixed in Youngjae, trying hard to not appear affected by the latter’s presence.

 

“Nice to meet you. Kunpimook, right?” The brunette asked with a friendly look on his face, then Kunpimook nodded. “I’m Park Jinyoung. This is my boyfriend, Mark Tuan, and the grumpy grandpa there is Im Jaebum. Please don’t mind him.”

 

Youngjae burst out into laughter hearing Jinyoung’s introductions, which made Jaebum frown, showing his unpleasantness. Apparently the smiling thing Jackson had asked wouldn’t work. At least Kunpimook didn’t laugh at him - not loudly at least.

 

“You can call me Bambam. It’s my nickname, but Jackson insists on calling me Kunpi.”

 

“That’s so adorable… I’m glad he’s taking care of you.” Jinyoung then looked at Youngjae. Jaebum wanted to punch him badly because he knew he was doing that on purpose. “And Youngjae-ssi? Do you remember us?”

 

Youngjae moved away from Yugyeom, thereafter sitting on the chair next to Jaebum. That was awkward to say the least but the older wouldn’t complain - not in a loud tone.

 

“Of course I do! A violet aura is always unforgettable.” The fortune-teller answered excitingly. “And your boyfriend is light blue… Such a pleasing combination! You’re surrounded by blue people, aren’t you, Jinyoung-ssi?”

 

“You can call me hyung.” Jinyoung said, turning to face Mark afterwards, who seemed pretty much distracted staring at his boyfriend’s lips. “Yes, we get along well. We’re like this since the first time we saw each other, maybe because we’re both Virgos.”

 

“I’m also a Virgo. Organized people, indeed, but I’d say I’m a mess.” Youngjae chuckled, stopping to admire the place they were. “This place is so cool… Gyeomie has never brought me here before to have free drinks. Today is a first.”

 

“Yugyeom DJing is dope.” Mark said, looking at Youngjae for the first time. “Apparently both of you are pretty famous around here, right?”

 

“Oh, I’m not…” Youngjae waved off, seeming a bit flushed. Jinyoung was paying attention to every reaction Jaebum would show while staring at the fortune-teller, but he couldn’t say anything at the moment so he just poked his best friend to let him know he was watching. “Being a fortune-teller is just a hobby, it’s not something I’ll do for a living.”

 

“So you go to college?” Jaebum asked inquisitively. It was surprising that gypsy didn’t want to be a scammer for the rest of his life, but he wasn’t impressed yet.

 

“Yes, I’m majoring in Physics. In the Astronomy field. I’m really fond of the universe as you can see.” Youngjae put his elbows on the table and stared back at Jaebum in amusement, as if he wanted to challenge the older to say something else.

 

“You can’t be a serious astronomer being and astrologer.” The raven-haired mocked, smirking.

 

“Are you, by any chance, an astronomer or an astrologer?”

 

“Of course not.” Jaebum scoffed. Not that Astronomy was a subject to mock, especially because it involved Physics, but the astrology and fortune-telling stuff was just stupid. He’d never take it seriously. “I’m a lawyer.”

 

“Oh, I see…” Youngjae seemed reflexive for a few seconds. “That’s why you don’t know anything.”

 

Right. Now Jaebum was definitely offended. Years and years to get a degree, post-degree and all that shit just to have an arrogant gypsy belittle everything with the prettiest smile on earth hovering on his lips. The older wanted to throw things at him, but he wouldn’t do it because unlike a _certain someone_ he knew how to behave politely.

 

The rest of the night went by fast once the alcohol started to do its trick. Jaebum ended up talking to Jackson and Bambam while Jinyoung, Mark and Yugyeom wasted their time paying attention to Youngjae. Jaebum was really bothered seeing the fortune-teller by his side, especially because the more he drank, the more intimate things seem to get between him and Yugyeom. They didn’t go at it, but the sexual tension was unbearable, which made Jaebum’s stomach twirl a lot more than he would admit.

 

Luckily he was drunk enough to ignore the fact and eventually got distracted by Jackson and Bambam’s company. The thai was very funny and Jackson was one of his closest friends so the conversation flowed smoothly. Jaebum found out the two of them met waiting in the supermarket line when the blond offered to pay Bambam’s bill due to him having forgotten his wallet home. Later Jackson would find out that was a common habit of his boyfriend, especially when they went out to eat meat.

 

Well, maybe those times were on purpose.

 

The raven-haired had also found out Bambam didn’t go out to eat meat often because Youngjae was a vegetarian and Yugyeom would rather spend his money with CDs or electronic stuff. Those three really had different personalities, but their bond was unbreakable. During the few times in the night the conversation involved everyone, Youngjae would tell their embarrassing childhood stories such as Yugyeom running around his plastic swimming pool naked and Bambam eating all his favorite cookies when he went to visit his house.

 

Everyone laughed. Even Jaebum had a hard time trying not to, seeing the spontaneous way Youngjae acted. He had to keep focused on how he hated the fortune-teller to maintain the serious look, otherwise he’d probably be showing his dinosaur laugh - as Jinyoung would call - already.

 

Hours passed and the couples started to leave. Mark and Jinyoung were the first ones because, besides the fact they acted like they were 80 years old, they wanted to go home watch a movie - probably some stupid one made for children, Toy Story or something.

 

Jackson and Bambam, on the other side, wanted to go to the luxurious party Yugyeom would be DJing at, so the three of them left soon in order to not waste time.

 

Jaebum frowned when Yugyeom said goodbye to Youngjae, smooching his cheeks and forehead. The fortune-teller asked him to behave and come back home early. It was so obvious they were a couple Jaebum was surprised Bambam left this _detail_ go unnoticed.

 

Youngjae and Jaebum were the only ones left at the table, in charge of drinking the rest of the free beers they got that night. They drank in silence; the atmosphere was very awkward since none of them knew what to talk without seeming offensive. They didn’t like each other at all, but of course they wouldn’t start fighting in a public place, therefore they just kept their mouths shut while sipping the cans, getting drunker as time passed.

 

“Why didn’t you go with your boyfriend to that party?” Jaebum asked, putting the empty can on the table lazily, along with the other ones.

 

He finally got the courage to break the silence. Unfortunately there were only two cans of beer left so they opened them while walking out of the pub. Youngjae had probably called a taxi already and Jaebum was about to do the same. He didn’t bring his car because he knew he wouldn’t be able to drive home like that. It was safer to use other means of transportation.

 

They stayed on the sidewalk. Youngjae leaned his back on the nearest concrete wall, staring at the older as he thought about the question. His gaze was still very intense although he was drunk, but it was still noticeable he was dizzy

 

“Maybe because I don’t have a boyfriend.” Youngjae replied after some time, making the older shook his head.

 

“Isn’t Yugyeom your boyfriend?” He frowned.

 

“God no. _Ew_. That’s just… So gross.” The younger sneered and giggled in an adorable way, though Jaebum would never admit it. Or maybe he would. He was feeling drunk enough to be comfortable having this kind of thought. “But our moms would always say we’d get married someday because he protected me from the bad kids and carried me around. After a while it became some kind of joke between us.”

 

“It doesn’t seem like a joke. You guys are so touchy.” Jaebum grumbled.

 

“And you don’t touch anything at all, hm?” The younger snickered after looking up at the sky. “Have my predictions came true already? Or not even a sign?” He pouted as he wondered that, apparently it didn’t happen often.

 

“Pff. Please.” Jaebum rolled his eyes. “You don’t really believe things you predict in that cheap shithole come true, do you?”

 

Youngjae’s eyes widened, clearly affected by those words.

 

“It’s not a cheap shithole” He blurted out. “And of course I do! Everything I say is true. It’s not about lies, it’s the universe working.”

 

“The universe doesn’t work.” Jaebum furrowed his brows. He was too drunk for metaphors. His tone was husky but apparently Youngjae was angry enough and he didn’t find it sexy at all. “And that’s not a real work either. I mean, insecure people pay you to say some nice things and that’s fine. Scamming is not the best way to earn a living, but it’s your way, just… Don’t try to tell me fortune-telling works. It didn’t work for me and it won’t work for anyone. Ever.”

 

“For your information, it _always_ works.” The younger scowled, taking a sip of his beer as if he was trying to gather courage to say his next sentence. “I know there are people in my field to take advantage of others, but I’m not like them. I’ve studied astrology. Besides, I’m naturally intuitive. I’m not like those scammer gypsies, I’m a fortune-teller. I don’t pretend to have powers, I know what I’m doing and I do it because I want to help others. Not because they’re paying me.”

 

“You’ve _studied_? To read some stupid cards and give a motivational speech?” Jaebum snickered. “For a physician, you’re a bit dumb, don’t you think?”

 

“It’s better than being a conceited lawyer like you!” Youngjae replied in a loud tone. “You guys think you know everything just because you know some stupid-ass jurisprudence, but truth is: you don’t know shit about laws. You don’t know shit about the rules we actually have to follow, the universe laws. Your work is bullshit, it has no value compared to the greatness of creation… That might be the reason you’re so frustrated, not even the universe wants to work in your favor. That’s what happens to anyone who thinks they’re the center of the world.” He paused briefly to catch his breath. “I swear I’ve never wanted my predictions to go wrong, but now I do. This once, I do. I pity anyone who is forced to be by your side.”

 

Jaebum got really mad hearing those words, his fists clenched and one of the veins in his forehead was throbbing. Anger was overflowing, but he wouldn’t let things like that.

 

Youngjae certainly didn’t know who he was talking about nor what he was getting into, but he’d certainly regret that. He had no idea what was about to happen.

 

“Really?” Jaebum asked, stepping forward to come closer to the younger. “What if _you’re_ the one I want by my side?”

 

Youngjae’s widened as Jaebum suddenly kissed him, which seemed clumsy and uncomfortable at first.

 

Since their lips met so rapidly it probably hurt the fortune-teller, but the raven-haired couldn’t care less. He placed his hands on Youngjae’s waist to stop him from trying to pull away, but the latter wouldn’t stop. He kept struggling like crazy, however, seeing the older wouldn’t let him go, he decided to correspond the kiss.

 

As Jaebum had already said: Youngjae had no idea who he was dealing with.

 

It took a while until they found a steady rhythm. Every touched seemed to burn.

 

They were so incompatible… While Jaebum’s kiss was dominating and thirsty, Youngjae liked to take his time and do things his own way instead of trying to follow the older’s pace, which frustrated the latter. It was hard to find a common ground between those two extremes, especially considering how they got in that situation. Their stubbornness didn’t allow them to give in, therefore they weren’t able to taste each other’s particularities. They couldn’t even notice the sweetness in their lips. It was war.

 

An exciting one, though.

 

As Youngjae opened his lips willing Jaebum’s tongue to enter his mouth, the older’s confidence grew. He even could make Youngjae moan slightly despite him not being receptive at all to the kiss. He also refused to let Jaebum do as he wanted, fighting for dominance in his own pace, making everything more sensual in the lawyer’s perspective.

 

No, Jaebum didn’t like challenges, but he’d be lying if he tried to deny his body heat due to what was happening. Those touches were filled with a desire and aggressiveness he had never experienced before.

 

It was amusing.

 

He had in mind Youngjae was the last person in the world he’d like to kiss but, still, it was impossible to let him go. His little moans were addictive combined with Jaebum’s and echoed through the street as if they were the only ones there.

 

That kiss was dangerous, it seemed it could make the world explode at any moment.

 

Even when the taxi arrived and honked a few times, they didn’t let go. Youngjae kept caressing Jaebum’s nape with his fingers, sometimes caressing his hair as well, while the older groped his bottom and grinded their crotches a bit in a extremely pleasant way.

 

They were indeed opposite poles. Once together, nothing could make them let go of each other’s grip.

 

But the taxi-driver wasn’t very happy with that.

 

“CAN YOU GUYS PLEASE CONTINUE THIS AT HOME?!” He opened one of the windows and yelled.

 

The two separated briefly, still staring at each other with unreadable expressions. Jaebum kept giving Youngjae quick pecks on the lips, wanting more.

 

“Your house or mine?” Jaebum asked in a husky tone, considerably dizzy. Maybe it was because of the alcohol, because of the stars in his eyes, because the guy in front of him he couldn’t stop kissing, even though he was trying to ask a question. He wasn’t drunk enough to lose his conscience completely, but maybe using alcohol as an excuse was better than admitting what he had been trying so hard to deny.

 

“Yours.” Youngjae answered and then moved away.

 

Fair enough. Jaebum was fine with him being the one to let go first.

 

He was the one paying for the cab as well, after all.


	3. Walk on the wild side

Youngjae didn’t understand how he ended up like that. Jaebum definitely was the last person he’d like to be snogging on a Friday night, let alone go to his house to take things further.

 

When reading his fortune, the first impression Youngjae had of the raven-haired was he seemed a conceited person who thought the world revolved around him. Obviously he couldn’t say this to a client, but it didn’t take long to his first impression to be confirmed and to Jaebum’s personality turn out to be worse than he thought it was at the beginning.

 

Jaebum was completely despicable. Youngjae couldn’t even put it into words.

 

The older spoke in a too pretentious way, even for a lawyer, and would always have a smirk hovering on his face when he tried to make people feel bad about themselves because, of course, _his Majesty_ loved to point flaws. Youngjae’s problem, apparently, was he was a scammer astrologist.

 

Too bad Jaebum didn’t know he was dealing with someone who actually knew what they were talking about and willing to fight him.

 

It’s common for people to believe astrology is a field full of swindlers. Youngjae had heard awful complaints regarding his job and he himself wasn’t very fond of other fortune-tellers in town, but he wasn’t like them. He truly had good intentions and that was the reason he got so angry when Jaebum offended him.

 

He’d have argued with the raven-haired for hours if it wasn’t for the unexpected kiss, which, by the way, wasn’t bad at all. At first he got really surprised by the suddenness of it, however, afterwards he thought Jaebum could be very attractive when his mouth was shut (or, in this case, kissing his).

 

Besides, the kiss was different from the ones Youngjae experienced before. Not that he used to kiss strangers often, but definitely Jaebum’s lips tasted more familiar than all of them.

 

Also, teasing the raven-haired when he tried to take the lead was very amusing; he’d get frustrated and his actions made it obvious.

 

But they also made things more intimate and Youngjae liked when people were honest since he was like that too. That was probably going to be the only thing about Jaebum he’d ever be fond of in his life.

 

Needless to say, it was also all it took for Youngjae to agree to go to his house.

 

When they arrived, the younger didn’t have time to pay attention at any details in the living room since Jaebum pressed him against the wall in a hurry - fortunately, he was too drunk to complain. They had already waited too much on their way home, which made them even more eager to touch themselves and make up for lost time.

 

The kiss was needy. It still didn’t look like they were soulmates destined to be together, but, as it progressed, they started to get to know each other’s likings better. Jaebum learned Youngjae smiled in between kisses when the raven-haired did something pleasing and the younger, on the other hand, learned Jaebum liked to receive love bites on his already bruised lips. He also seemed to find pretty hot when Youngjae moaned since he’d always try to make him let out those beautiful mewls.

 

It wasn’t difficult at all to make Youngjae moan. He was a very _honest_ person, after all, therefore he’d always be very loud. Obviously he’d try to contain those noises on first dates, but Jaebum was a fast-learner when it came to finding Youngjae’s weak spots.

 

Typical of someone as pretentious as he was.

 

His hands were groping Youngjae’s ass firmly, occasionally going up just to find themselves under the younger’s shirt to caress the smooth skin on his waist.

 

However, they’d always go back to his ass. It had became Jaebum’s favorite place and he wouldn’t even try to hide it, shamelessly grabbing it whenever he could.

 

Youngjae noticed Jaebum was already hard from grinding. He himself was feeling very hot too due to all that teasing and, besides, the raven-haired’s scent mixed with his sweat was becoming extremely enticing. It was too much to handle.

 

The younger was the one to break the kiss, moving down to Jaebum’s neck to be closer to the fragrance that was making him lose his mind. He kissed it all over while his hand caressed the older’s nape, who was biting his lips to contain his own moans.

 

Youngjae liked biting a lot, so he made sure to give the raven-haired a lot of love bites and hickeys in his neck as well. He could be a bit possessive sometimes, always making sure to mark what belonged to him, even if just for one night.

 

The older didn’t seem to mind, but he also thought it wasn’t fair to be the only one affected by the situation, so in the meantime his hands lifted Youngjae’s shirt and exposed his bare chest, expecting to feel his soft skin again. He teased the younger’s rosy nipples gently until they got hard just to pinch them afterwards. Youngjae whimpered due to touches on one of his sweet spots and Jaebum could feel his heavy breathing against his neck.

 

“Let’s go to my room.” Jaebum whispered in a soft husky tone.

 

The raven-haired made Youngjae wrap his legs around his waist and held his thighs firmly while carrying him. His nape kept being caressed by the younger’s hands and there was a brief moment their gazes locked on each other’s, which made Youngjae blush slightly. His face was prone to be already flustered because of alcohol and the current situation, but the look Jaebum gave him seemed to make time stop for a few seconds.

 

It was hard to breath, to move or to blink - he could only feel his cheeks getting hotter and hotter.

 

Jaebum had an intimidating look, but what got Youngjae’s attention were the twin moles above one of his eyes, noticeable even though the only light in the place was coming through window since none of them cared about turning on another one.

 

Youngjae’s hand tried to reach Jaebum’s face, but before it could, the younger was already laying on bed, between white sheets and pillows.

 

Jaebum was on top of him, placed between the younger’s spreaded legs. The raven-haired started to take Youngjae’s clothes off in a hurry, including all those jewelry pendants hanging around his neck and wrists, which stopped bothering Jaebum after some time.

 

However, Youngjae didn’t let him take his black boxers off yet, being the only piece that remained. He wanted the moment to last longer.

 

Jaebum stared at the view for a bit while taking off his own clothes, unbuttoning his black dress shirt sloppily, too busy admiring Youngjae’s body. The younger knew that wasn’t a loving glance, but a lustful one, which became obvious once he saw Jaebum’s throbbing erection covered by his underwear.

 

He was handsome, not too muscular but also not as skinny as Youngjae. His skin was also tanner than the latter’s, but it was likely to be since he almost never went out in sunlight and would rather be stuck in a dark room studying.

 

Jaebum leaned to kiss Youngjae again as their crotches pressed together, now even closer than before.

 

They would moan in between kisses. The younger’s mewls were definitely more needy, but those were Jaebum’s favorites.

 

However, as much as the raven-haired wanted to keep kissing those rosy lips until they got swollen to hear Youngjae’s adorable whimpers, he knew he had to do more so he kissed his way to the younger’s collarbones.

 

Jaebu, was the biting type as well, maybe even more than Youngjae was, and rougher than him too. He marked the younger’s chest with love bites and sucked until there were red marks there. Once in a while he’d stop to glance at all those small evidences Youngjae belonged to him.

 

Even if just for one night, he was his and only his.

 

He slowly licked Youngjae’s nipples to tease him and sucked them softly. Jaebum’s lips never failed on making Youngjae let out his beautiful voice and, although it was loud enough for a whole neighborhood to hear him, he couldn’t care less. Certainly they wouldn’t have other nights like these, so they wanted to enjoy fully.

 

The younger’s hands were stroking Jaebum’s hair and guiding him as he kept teasing, sometimes in a caringly way, sometimes not so much.

 

Youngjae hated to admit it, but he was extremely aroused by despicable lawyer.

 

His cock was dripping shamelessly under his boxers, longing for touches, but the older wasn’t giving him what he wanted anytime soon. He’d stroke Youngjae’s clothed erection now and then but soon his hands would purposely go elsewhere.

 

The raven-haired took his time, wanting hear the younger beg.

 

After leaving marks on Youngjae’s chest, he placed kisses on his jawline, licked and bite his earlobe and got to hear his cute yelps a lot of times. Anything Jaebum did made Youngjae shiver. He wanted to have his payback, but he could barely move due to the older’s weight on top of him. Although his hands were free, the only thing he could do was some scratching.

 

Jaebum loved that, by the way. Youngjae’s nails digging on his skin felt amazing, even though it hurt, it also let him know how eager the younger was.

 

“Mm… Jaebum-hyung…” Youngjae whimpered. He wasn’t sure he should call Jaebum like that, but certainly they got closer that night. So _close_ Jaebum was even sucking his nipples again, but he stopped as he heard his name, lifting his face to look at the younger with a smirk on his lips.

 

Apparently that turned him on.

 

“You have such a sexy body, Youngjae-ah.” Jaebum caressed Youngjae’s nipples before kissing his down to his tummy, placing his hand on the hem of the younger’s underwear, dragging it down a bit. “Let hyung take this off, will you, baby?” The raven-haired asked with a sweet voice as his other hand rubbed Youngjae’s bare thighs, sending shivers down the latter’s spine. For such a conceited man, he definitely knew how to be gentle, but that could be just an effect of alcohol. “Let me take care of you…”

 

“Mhm.” Youngjae’s erection was throbbing, that talk almost sent him over to the edge. Jaebum removed the last piece of clothing of the younger’s body capturing his expression once he was completely exposed. They were complete strangers, yet it seemed so familiar. None of them knew why their presence was that soothing, but it was good. “What will you do to me, hyung?”

 

Jaebum spreaded Youngjae’s legs even more and licked his inner thigh gently, placing some hickeys there as well. Not even for a second he looked away from the younger’s face.

 

The raven-haired would always come closer to Youngjae’s cock, but he’d never touch it, which made the latter buck his hips impatiently. He was already leaking pre-cum, silently pleading for Jaebum’s attention.

 

“I wanna taste you, baby.” The raven-haired’s hands started stroking Youngjae’s cock slowly, paying attention to all the sounds that kept coming out of the younger’s mouth nonstop. “Every little bit of you. With my tongue.”

 

Jaebum kissed Youngjae’s thighs and kept pumping his erection, fastening his pace.

 

Youngjae gasped. That offer was impossible to refuse, especially when Jaebum kept staring at him like that, so deliciously and sweet, yet demanding at the same time.

 

The raven-haired was completely in control. Youngjae’s senses were filled with desire due to his provocations.

 

“I’ll make you scream my name until you forget yours.”

 

Youngjae smiled hearing those words, but let Jaebum do as he wanted.

 

The raven-haired let go of Youngjae’s cock and grabbed his thighs, lifting him up until his entrance was visible. He put a pillow under the younger’s hips to keep him comfortably in that position.

 

Youngjae could feel Jaebum’s finger rubbing his entrance gently at first, but soon it got replaced by the latter’s tongue, which started licking him gently, making the sweet spot become more wet as time passed. His nails were digging on Youngjae’s skin, parting his buttcheeks so that his hole could be better seen.

 

Youngjae arched his back when he felt his _hyung_ penetrating him with his tongue, moving in and out to make the younger get used to the feeling, until it got completely inside his tight hole.

 

Jaebum reverberated in pleasure, but his satisfaction certainly couldn’t compete with Youngjae’s, who let out loud moans and gasps, unable to contain himself due to the amazing sensation the raven-haired was giving him. The older’s tongue was warm and his touches were too arousing to handle.

 

Besides, he was very gentle. He’d never let go of Youngjae, no matter what.

 

This time it didn’t take long for Jaebum to start moving and, at the same time, Youngjae started masturbating himself in a steady rhythm.

 

Touching himself after all that teasing was relieving and Jaebum licking his hole made him drip even more.

 

He was sensitive; his hole was twitching and his vision was blurry.

 

He swore he could see stars. It was the closest he’d ever get to the sky.

 

Jaebum kept savoring Youngjae, penetrating him deeply with his tongue, making him mewl messily. The younger was panting heavily while those cute noises came from his mouth, repeating his hyung’s name in a loving tone.

 

Jaebum was getting what he wanted, causing the reactions he expected, so he just kept going.

 

“Ahn… J- Jaebum-hyung…” Youngjae was still pumping himself, his body already trembling due to the touches. He tilted his head back, biting his lips roughly. “I’m going to cum soon…”

 

“Mhm.” Jaebum nodded, continuing what he was doing.

 

It wasn’t long until Youngjae reached his orgasm. His cum spilled on his tummy and messed the sheets as he lost control momentaneously, moaning Jaebum’s name for the last time - which would probably boost the latter’s already enormous ego, but he didn’t care.

 

Youngjae felt his body relaxing. The weird feeling everything seemed familiar was still there, even when Jaebum finally let go of him and went up to clean him up, which he also did with his tongue, but the younger was too immersed in the sensation to feel flustered. Yet he knew they wouldn’t stop there.

 

And they didn’t, but before they started kissing again Jaebum glued his eyes on him for a few seconds, keeping his face close. Youngjae’s breathing was still heavy, but it started settling slowly, although his heart was still beating fast.

 

It kept beating faster and faster no matter how much he tried to remain calm.

 

“We’re not done yet, baby.” Jaebum smiled, smooching Youngjae’s cheeks before giving him a peck on the lips. “Don’t go thinking I’ll let you rest so soon…”

 

“That’s good, then. Because I don’t want to rest anytime soon either.” Youngjae chuckled and ignored his tiredness in order to kiss Jaebum again.

 

But whichever were their other fantasies for that night, they didn’t get fulfilled.

 

Maybe alcohol caused more tiredness than Jaebum wanted to admit, or maybe he was too tired from his working routine, which would be completely acceptable, considering his chaotic lifestyle. Either way, he didn’t know.

 

However, he fell asleep in the middle of another snogging session, weighing his body down as he remained top of the younger’s and started to rest.

 

Youngjae got frustrated, indeed, but he was also tired after what happened, so he decided to sleep as well, feeling a bit dizzy.

 

Still, he had sobered up enough to wonder how things would be in the morning.

 

He was sure they would never do anything like that again, but they also probably would never see each other again, so it was good.

 

He definitely wouldn’t want to deal with Jaebum’s difficult personality in the future.  

 

**(...)**

Jaebum woke up with heavy eyelids and a major headache. Flashbacks from last night popped up on his mind so fast he didn’t even have time to prepare for the harsh reality he was about to face the moment he opened his eyes.

 

Sweet smell of pancakes and loud music coming from the kitchen were there to confirm he was having a real-life nightmare.

 

And his name was _Choi Youngjae_.

 

The older immediately looked down to see he was half-naked and remembered all the embarrassing things he said last night. He remembered Youngjae moaning his name, as well as all the touching they did. Masturbating, licking, doing everything they could and, the worst part, actually _enjoying_ every minute. Even after it was over, Jaebum could see his body react instantly as his messy memories came back. He shook his head desperately trying to make them go away.

 

Maybe he was still drunk, maybe he had lost his mind or maybe it was witchcraft. Maybe it was all three of them happening at the same time. There wasn’t any other plausible explanation for why did he enjoyed last night so much.

 

He couldn’t even remember if they had sex or not, but seeing how things went, they most likely did.

 

How could he fuck that stupid Choi Youngjae? He kissed him just to piss him off, not to open a gate to hell and let the demons run free.

 

Jaebum’s body shivered when he remembered more stuff. He remembered how he savored _literally_ every inch of Youngjae’s skin with so much delight. He tended to be very restrained when it came to sex since it was always no strings attached, however, Youngjae made him want to do things he never thought of doing before. The younger’s reactions were so sincere, so easy to read… He gave his everything without any hesitation. It was addictive.

 

Even so, how could Youngjae show that obscene side of him to a stranger so willingly?

 

Jaebum didn’t feel like they were strangers, however. Not even for a second. Last night didn’t look like an one night stand at all, it looked way beyond sloppy drunk sex. There was something about them that made everything different, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

 

It was uncomfortable because things were too comfortable and that closeness wasn’t supposed to exist.

 

It was witchcraft. For sure.

 

The raven-haired got up and went straight to the kitchen ignoring his hangover and the fact he hadn’t showered yet. He had to kick that scammer out of his house as soon as he could so that he’d disappear from his life as well.

 

When Jaebum saw Youngjae, the latter was dancing a random song coming from his phone full of pendants and glitter while he made pancakes.

 

Seeing the kitchen wasn’t messy, Jaebum decided to not interrupt him yet. In fact, he kept staring at Youngjae for a greater amount of time than he’d like to, but luckily the younger didn’t notice his presence and continued focusing on the pancakes.

 

He was dressing only last night’s t-shirt, therefore his legs were uncovered, showing a lot of red and purple marks on his inner thighs. Jaebum was surprised he was the one who did that since it looked like he got _beaten up_ , but he had to admit the colors contrasted well with Youngjae’s soft skin.

 

Besides, the latter didn’t seem to mind showing his bruises around, so why would Jaebum?

 

“Ah, ah, ah… Staying alive… STAYING ALIVEEEE…” Youngjae turned around and his eyes widened noticing the raven-haired’s presence in the kitchen, standing on the door. “YAH!! WHAT THE FUCK. ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!” He shouted in such a loud tone Jaebum placed his hands on his ears for a moment.

 

“I am. I will. You have no idea.” Jaebum answered, crossing his arms and arching his brows. That was a reasonable response, right? “What are you doing in my house? And listening to this horrendous music?” He inquired, referring to the foreign song echoing through the kitchen.

 

“This is not horrendous, it’s _Bee Gees_. And you were the one who invited me, hyung.” The younger chuckled and turned off the stove. He put the pancakes on a plate afterwards, pilling them up. “But don’t worry, I’ll be going soon.”

 

“Now I’m your hyung?” Jaebum mocked showing a grumpy expression as he watched Youngjae decorating the pancakes with syrup and some fruits. The raven-haired didn’t even know he had those at home.

 

“Jaebum-ah is too intimate, yet after last night I will never be able to call you Jaebum-ssi again.” He pointed.

 

“You don’t look sore at all for someone who had sex with me last night.” That was true. Not that he was one to brag about his size but, well, it was _big_. Even if Youngjae was into casual sex, it was impossible for him to not be affected, but his behavior was weird.

 

It was even weirder when he burst out into laughter, so loud it filled the room. Even Nora, Jaebum’s cat, which had been hiding for some time, went to the kitchen to see what was going on.

 

“You might have dreamed this happened. You fell asleep before we could fuck, you know.” Youngjae said much to Jaebum’s surprise.

 

“I didn’t.” The older furrowed.

 

Even though he should feel relieved hearing that, he wasn’t. He was rather frustrated to be honest.

 

“You slept on top of me, by the way. You’re heavy, I thought I was going to die.” Youngjae teased. “Did you know falling asleep in the middle of sex due to exhaustion is-”

 

“No, I don’t know. I don’t want to either.” Jaebum interrupted him before things could get even more embarrassing. “And about what happened last night… Well, it was weird, but it won’t happen again. Ever. You hear me?”

 

“Of course it won’t.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. Good thing he was in a great mood. “The only way to stand you is when your mouth is shut, but you can’t keep it, can you? You just woke up and I already remembered the reason I dislike you so much.”

 

“I feel the same about you.” Jaebum grimaced.

 

“But I made you pancakes.” Youngjae placed the plate at the table and the raven-haired had to admit the food looked delicious. He wasn’t very fond of sweet things but those pancakes looked like heaven.

 

In another situation, maybe Jaebum would admit the person who prepared them also looked like that, but now he was sober and lucidity was keeping him from saying more embarrassing stuff.

 

“Unlike a certain someone, I can be nice, so consider this thank-you-for-yesterday-but-goodbye-forever pancakes a gift.” Youngjae smiled.

 

“So those aren’t for you?” Jaebum was confused. Why was the younger being kind to him? They were supposed to hate each other.

 

Well, maybe they were poisonous.

 

“No, but I just spat on them, if you wanna know.” Youngjae smirked and walked out of the kitchen moving in the rhythm of the song playing repeatedly on the background. “But now I really have to go, so maybe you can be nice for a change and open the door for me after I put my pants on. Will you, hyung?”

 

Jaebum nodded, grabbing a bite of the pancakes afterwards just to conclude they indeed tasted as delicious as they looked.

 

Youngjae got ready fast and said goodbye even faster.

 

Things between him and Jaebum didn’t get as weird as the older thought they would. Actually, it was very easy to deal with Youngjae - he didn’t even had to kick him out because he was already willing to go anyway.

 

Jaebum hated the morning after an one night stand since things would always become awkward, however, they went smoothly that day. Maybe because they didn’t have sex at all or maybe because Youngjae was oblivious enough to act naturally in this kind of situation. He even made pancakes for a person he’s probably never see again!

 

It was obvious the younger didn’t want to have a relationship with Jaebum, he seemed to be completely fine with just one night of snogging, and Jaebum should be glad about that too, since it was one less problem to worry about.

 

However, rather than relieved, he felt confused.

 

It was odd, but when Youngjae walked out of his apartment with a wide smile on his face and those stupid necklaces and bracelets making an awful noise, Jaebum felt even more disturbed.

 

When the raven-haired sat to eat his pancakes, he was already out of his mind.

 

Breakfast would be eaten in silence and confusion if it wasn’t for the BeeGees playing on the background.

 

When Jaebum stood up to turn the music off, he was about to throw that phone out of the window, but then he noticed it didn’t belong to him.

 

 _That was Youngjae’s phone_.


	4. Love is a battlefield

Jaebum waited three days, seven hours and five minutes to hear from Youngjae again.

 

Not that he was counting, of course, but he decided to take note of the delay since it annoyed him. A lot.

 

He wondered if the younger was oblivious to the point he’d forget his phone at a stranger’s house and take all that time to notice it or if he simply had been too busy to search for it.

 

Neither of options made Jaebum less pissed off, though. Especially because he spent all those days carrying the phone around hoping to receive a text as soon as possible, looking forward to get rid of that cursed object so that Youngjae’s presence would finally be gone forever. However, the delay only made him more apprehensive as he started to wonder when would he see the younger again or if he would see him at all. The possibility of him unwilling to meet Jaebum again and deciding to buy a new phone instead definitely couldn’t be ruled out; he had made it clear his pancakes were a “thank you and goodbye forever gift”, but... Should Jaebum take that so literally?

 

The older didn’t know how to feel about this, even in his free time he kept remembering the night they spent together. Not many details would cross his mind since he was pretty drunk back then but, still, the feeling lingered on strongly, forming a bunch of confusing memories inside his head. Until then he swore the only thing he felt towards Choi Youngjae was hatred, yet his reactions just by thinking about him started to show pretty much the opposite - once, as he thought of the spontaneous way Youngjae talked, he even _smiled_ … Can you believe that? Of course not. It’s gross.

 

And obviously Jaebum was in denial, starting to blame, at first, Jinyoung for dragging him to that damned fortune-telling thing which caused him to meet Youngjae. Then he blamed the alcohol that made him drunk enough to kiss the younger and invite him to spend the night together. Last, but not least, he blamed the forgotten phone, which was going to be responsible for another unwanted meeting with the person he hated the most.

 

Witchcraft was certainly working just fine. Whoever casted that spell on Jaebum should be the happiest person alive seeing his mental confusion and complete misery.

 

Now the raven-haired thought of Youngjae more than ever before. As much as he was still able to do his work, his focus had decreased considerably and he’d always end up staring at Youngjae’s phone screen for a long time, wondering if he should try to call him, if he should unlock the thing to search some personal information about the younger (just in case he wanted to sue him someday) or if he should simply throw the phone away since he didn’t even know why he was keeping it on the first place. It was none of his business.

 

In the end, he did none of that, but eventually the phone screen lit up showing a text message notification.

 

Jaebum felt relieved, but then he felt _sick_. Was he really that happy just because of Youngjae?

 

 **From:** Yugyeomie

 **To:** CYJ

       _JAEBUM-HYUNG_

_ARE YOU PLANNING TO GIVE ME MY PHONE BACK OR_

 

Jaebum rolled his eyes seeing another text was received. His stomach suddenly decided to twirl as if someone was dancing on his insides. Just because of some stupid words… When did he become so pathetic?

 

 **From:** Yugyeomie

 **To:** CYJ

       _its yOUNGJAE here_

_YUGYEOM HANDED ME HIS PHONE BUT IDK HOW IT WORKS_

    Jaebum finally unlocked the screen to type his answer, which he did only after picturing Youngjae messing things up in order to type a simple message, probably giggling like an idiot. Argh.

 

 **From:** CYJ

 **To:** Yugyeomie

       _Why are you screaming_

 

   **From:** Yugyeomie

 **To:** CYJ

         _I DONT KNOw_

_nevermind i got it now_

_anyways_

_i need my phone back tomorrow. can you bring it to me at my work?_

 

 **From:** CYJ

 **To:** Yugyeomie

       _I’ll think about it_

 

 **From:** Yugyeomie

 **To:** CYJ

         _hyuuuung (T﹏T) please…_

    Jaebum wanted to hide the scary grin hovering on his face, but it was helpless. He didn’t know why he was acting like that, if it was due to that stupid emoticon or the fact he’d have to see Youngjae tomorrow, but he opted to think it was because he’d finally get rid of that phone, thereafter getting rid of that damned gypsy as well.

 

That was prone to be their last encounter. After that, Jaebum would be able to move on ignoring he was under a spell and doing his best to bury those weird feelings that insisted on bugging him the last few days. Just like that famous saying, _out of sight, out of mind_.

 

 **From:** CYJ

 **To:** Yugyeomie

       _Fine, but it’ll have to be on the afternoon. Is 3 p.m. good?_

 

 **From:** Yugyeomie

 **To:** CYJ

       _it’s perfect_

      _see you tomorrow hyung_

_goodnight sleep tight (◦’ںˉ◦)♥_

 

 **From:** CYJ

 **To:** Yugyeomie

        _Ew you're so gross_

 

    Jaebum wasn’t intending to say more than that, but then his fingers started typing anyway.

 

 **From:** CYJ

 **To:** Yugyeomie

       _See you tomorrow_

 

After that embarrassing goodbye, the raven-haired threw the phone away as if it was an alien and laid on bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time while thinking about the texts he just sent to Youngjae.

 

As time passed, dreamland hadn’t come to find him yet. It was the first time in decades it seemed impossible to him to close his eyes and sleep soundly, as he used to do when he had no worries.

 

Without thinking twice, or worrying about what time it was, he got his own phone and dialed Jinyoung’s number. His call only got picked on the last beeps and, considering the heavy breathing on the other side of the line, Jaebum could tell him and Mark were having a _moment_.

 

Not that Jaebum cared, of course. They had all the time in the world to fuck; his problem, on the other hand, had to be solved immediately.

 

“Jinyoung-ah?”

 

 _“You better have the best reason in the world to call me this late.”_ Jinyoung tended to be a sweet person, however, his behavior changed a bit when he was aroused.

 

Either way, he hated to be interrupted in any kind of situations, but the raven-haired simply loved doing that.

 

It was not the first time something like that happened, so he had learned how to deal with it better than in the beginning. Although he didn’t like Jaebum getting in the way of his sexual life so often, he still felt the need to be polite. At least one of the parts should behave properly.

 

“I need a epsom salt bath...” The older explained calmly, with certain difficulty to say the next sentence without sounding completely out of his mind. Nevertheless, he did need that bath, there was no other way out, since there was no other plausible answer for what was happening to him. “I’ve been bewitched.”

 

_“Fuck you, Jaebum.”_

 

An angry grunt could be heard from the other side of the line, which became mute afterwards, meaning there was no one there to listen to his complaints anymore.

 

Defeated, the raven-haired decided to take a sleeping pill.

 

Maybe that way he could get some rest.

 

**(...)**

 

Jaebum rang Jisun’s doorbell three times and waited for her to answer. That lady was his best client and, definitely, the richest of them, so he put a lot of effort on trying to appear polite and gentle whenever she was around. However, that behavior was not only due to her early payments, but also because he actually was very fond of the woman. She was his mentor and someone he could lean on.

 

She had hired Jaebum as her company’s main lawyer just after he graduated, trusting his abilities even when he was a mere inexperienced beginner. Everyone knew how risky that was, hiring someone new in the advocacy field to deal with issues regarding a multinational, but Jisun insisted that she could recognize a good man when she saw one, therefore her decision never wavered.

 

They had built a close relationship as time passed, talking about everything, even if it wasn’t work related - and they had a lot of fun. Jisun had a simple personality, always talkative and cheerful. Jaebum was a bit uncomfortable with her presence at first, but it didn’t take long until he grew fond of the woman. He respected her as an older sister and as a multinational’s president, because he knew behind that oblivious personality there was a very strong and committed woman, capable of convincing everyone to agree with her decisions. He had never met someone as persuasive as Jisun, it only took a snap of her fingers for her co-workers to do as she said, even if her plans seemed impossible, she always managed to get what she wanted.

 

However, in that day Jaebum wasn’t there to deal with company’s president Jisun, but with _noona_ Jisun. She would get married soon and hired Jaebum to take care of his marriage agreement since the latter was constantly dealing with her finances and most likely would make the right decisions about her property regime arrangements.

 

The raven-haired wasn’t very surprised when the woman went to open the door wearing her long-sleeved pajamas with pink whales printed all over it. She also had a cup of hot chocolate in her hands - so childlike. He couldn’t believe she was almost in her 40s nor that she was the main responsible for one of the most powerful companies in Seoul, however, as soon as she smiled, he knew why she was the chosen one. You had to be extremely _evil_ to say no to her, since she looked like a puppy.

 

“Jaebum-ah! You’re early!” Even though there were some servants in the house, Jisun would always answer the door in person when Jaebum came to visit, with a motherly smile on her lips. Jaebum took a mental note that if Jinyoung wanted to be the group mom, he had to acted more like her. That guy was all talk, in the end he didn’t take care of anyone except Mark.

 

Yes, Jaebum held some grudges, but who doesn’t, right?

 

“I’m sorry, noona. I couldn’t sleep last night so I decided to come as soon as possible.” The raven haired said, bowing politely to greet her, entering the house afterwards. The sight of an enormous living room in front of his eyes with eccentric decorations.

 

“Don’t worry, but you shouldn’t have come so early. It’s really no big deal… I mean, it’s important to the wedding, I guess, but it’s not about marriage agreement.” Jisun took a sip of the hot chocolate and sat on the couch, gesturing so that Jaebum would sit beside her, which he did afterwards, always keeping some distance between the two as he didn’t want to make his noona uncomfortable. “I wish Jonghyun-ah was here too, but he’s traveling to show his art exhibition and will only be back one day before the wedding.” She let out a sigh and pouted. “Ah… I wonder how I’ll deal with my feelings now that he’s becoming nationally famous… I just miss him so much…”

 

“How did you meet hyung?” Jaebum asked out of curiosity, ignoring the possibility of that being something very personal to share.

 

It was intriguing to say the least that a woman like her decided to marry an artist. Not that Jonghyun wasn’t a serious man, but he definitely lived a bohemian lifestyle, very different from Jisun’s, who was kind of a workaholic. Seeing the picture as an observer, Jaebum couldn’t understand why did they fall in love without having a single thing in common, but they had been together for more than ten years already and not even for a second they hesitated, always being completely sure about what they felt towards each other.

 

The raven-haired had seen them together a few times and, oddly, their interactions seemed very sweet, clarifying that they were, indeed, soul mates - cliché, he knew, but what could he do?

 

Well, it was true they didn’t talk about work at at all and had complete opposite opinions about everything, especially considering Jisun was a conservative woman while Jonghyun was the free-spirited kind of guy, but then, there was something keeping them together. An unbreakable bond. Even when they were discussing, they always took things lightly. It seemed fun.

 

And, obviously, there was also the way they looked at each other. Jaebum almost never paid attention to public displays of affection because they made him nauseous, but when those two did something, it was very subtle and evident at the same time. You didn’t have to know them to notice the love they felt for each other, but once you did, it became even more clear through the littlest things.

 

It was the kind of relationship that didn’t annoy Jaebum, maybe because it was very different from what he was used to see.

 

“That’s an easy one.” Jisun giggled, gazing at nowhere in particular with a nostalgic look. “They were protesting on the streets against something, you know, those stupid environmentalists… Jonghyun was leading the commotion. It was hate at first sight and, since I had to stop my work to deal with the mess he made, we ended up arguing with each other for a really long time. Since that day, he kept coming to the company hall to do the same thing, even after I decided to change my perspective on the matter, he just kept arguing with me. We didn’t even know why we were so mad at each other anymore, until we realized that was only a lame excuse to hide our true feelings. Then he invited me to go out and took me to a vegan restaurant, of course. I hated it, as a meat lover, I had to say that was the worst crap I’ve ever eaten in my life, but he kissed me to shut my mouth.” She laughed soundly. It seemed like a very sweet memory to her, which made Jaebum smile.

 

In an unnoticeable way, of course.

 

“You are pretty different from each other, but it’s a cool thing.” Jaebum concluded and Jisun nodded.

 

“Sometimes I wonder why did I choose someone like him. It’s not just our lifestyles that are different, but our personalities as well. You know I’m very childish, but Jonghyun is too mature, he sounds like an old fart!” Then the woman became pensive for a few instants, putting the hot chocolate cup aside. “However, there’s this… Not this ‘opposites attract’ bullshit, but way more than that. Some really strong force that keeps us together. Attraction doesn’t allow people to get along for such a large amount of time, so maybe it’s destiny. Even our divergent opinions weren’t enough to tear us apart. I love Jonghyun the most. I always did. It only took me a bit to admit it.”

 

“I wish the best for both of you, noona.” Jaebum smiled, his wishes were sincere. Although he felt uncomfortable saying that kind of thing, he had to put some effort for Jisun. It was complicated to say more than three words without sounding completely bitter, but he wouldn’t disrespect a woman that was like an older sister to him.

 

As much as love was a total lie to most of people, there were those who actually found it. Jaebum was surrounded by them: Jinyoung and Mark, Jackson and Bambam, Jisun and Jonghyun… Maybe it was a privilege to meet people who were meant to be together and loved each other deeply, but his thoughts regarding love remained the same. The said feeling always caused headaches; it was very hard to meet the right person and the wrong ones tended to leave a lot of wounds, so it was better to not become attached to anyone.

 

Not that it was hard for Jaebum, who had never been in love his whole life.

 

No, it’s not like he had built a wall around himself to not get hurt due to some bad experiences in a past relationship, it’s just that he never understood what was so good about loving someone. He found it rather boring, actually. He had tried it a few times when he was younger, but always ended up growing tired of the person and, when things didn’t work out, they would part ways without caring, as if nothing happened. Simple like this.

 

After some time the raven-haired accepted that love would never fit his lifestyle, so he started to pay attention to what could bring him real happiness, which was money.

 

He doubted at that point of his life that would change, despite his brain not working properly the last few days, he still couldn’t picture himself being in love with someone. However, he’d spare Jisun from his thoughts, even if he believed love was just an illusion and that people should lean on concrete things instead of holding onto a feeling that vanished with time, he remained quiet this time. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything after seeing how happy Jisun was with her wedding.

 

Maybe love could do some good for people, like a placebo effect. Or a medicine when you’re feeling sick.

 

“And you, Jaebum-ah? Is there someone you like?” This time Jisun was the curious one.

 

“Actually, there isn’t.” The raven-haired replied. “I’m too busy with work to think about relationships, noona.”

 

“Ah… Men these days…” The woman rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “I’m really concerned about this generation. You guys run away from relationships as if falling in love is some awful thing.” She paused for a bit, eyes lingering on the ceiling as she let out a sigh. “My little brother is just like that, I don’t know why. He always gives me advice concerning love even though he had never dated anyone… That brat. How can he know so much with so little experience?”

 

Oh. Jisun’s younger brother. She talked a lot about him, but Jaebum had only seen him once, a long time ago. He was sprawled on the couch sleeping like a rock and his hair was bleached but his roots were showing already. The raven-haired never actually spoke to him, but the young man seemed too lazy for his own good, although Jisun would always insist he was some kind of genius, it was hard to believe.

 

She probably got too blinded by of his hair color to see his true self.

 

“And he’s always late. Must be the reason he can’t find anyone.” She muttered locking his gaze at the clock hanging on the wall. “He must have overslept again.”

 

“Everytime you talk about your brother he’s sleeping, noona.” Jaebum chuckled. “That certainly is the reason… How can he ever meet someone? All this time and I’ve never seen him properly.”

 

“He sleeps a lot. Just like a teddy bear.” Jisun laughed as well. “But he’s an amazing boy, you know? He made me a way more open-minded person than I used to be. He might be young, but he always knows what to say. I’m sure you’ll like him.”

 

The doorbell rang and the woman stood up to answer it, swaying her hips in the rhythm of a song that was playing inside her head.

 

“Yah, Choi Youngjae!” She exclaimed, making Jaebum jump from his seat hearing that name.

 

 _Choi Youngjae_.

 

The raven-haired thanked God or whoever the fuck was ruling the universe because, well, at least he wasn’t drinking anything the moment the younger arrived. If he was, he’d probably have choked to death by that time.

 

Still, it was pretty scary to turn around and see that familiar face - the face he had been thinking so much about, although he’d never admit it.

 

Youngjae was hugging Jisun tightly, not even noticing Jaebum’s presence until he let go of his sister. He was really shocked seeing the man standing in the living room, eyes widened as if they were going to pop out at any moment.

 

That couldn’t be real. Not only Youngjae was Bambam’s childhood best friend, now he was also his favorite client’s _brother_. Why must that happen to Jaebum, who never did anything to harm anyone (without a good cause or a good income, at least)?

 

The raven-haired couldn’t believe it. So the sleepyhead he found on the couch that time was Youngjae?!

 

Luckily the latter had given up the blond locks, because that certainly didn’t fit him at all.

 

Seeing the younger side by side with Jisun, Jaebum had to admit they _really_ looked like siblings. They both had the same loud and spontaneous laugh and a square face, but the woman obviously had more delicate traits and long brown hair. They were also very loud, but Jisun’s presence was very soothing and she was a serious businesswoman, unlike Youngjae, who was a stupid fortune-teller.

 

The familiar feeling Jaebum had when he was with Youngjae was now becoming more plausible. So he had already met the scammer before… Even if they didn’t exchange any words, it had to mean something.

 

The raven-haired shivered. For the first time in his life he was _afraid_ of what was happening. One strange coincidence was okay, but two was too much to handle.

 

He had been working for Jisun for a while now, so why didn’t he meet her brother before in a proper way? Why just now?

 

However, when he stopped to think about it, noona never mentioned her brother’s name before. She’d either call him “my little brother” or “Jae”, but Jae could mean _anyone_. Choi was also a common last name, so why did Jae had to be that Choi Youngjae, the person he was supposed to meet later that day whom he despised so much? Why was he being forced to meet him again without planning anything?

 

Damn Jinyoung. He should have told him where he could take an epsom salt bath to get rid of that spell.

 

“Jaebum-hyung?” Youngjae seemed confused. “How did you find out where my sister lives?”

 

“You guys know each other?!” Jisun suddenly got startled by that information, taking Youngjae by his hand and forcing him to sit beside Jaebum on the couch. This time the older couldn’t keep a comfortable distance between them and that made him scream internally. As always.

 

The woman was standing in front of them, waiting for an explanation.

 

“Jaebum-hyung is a friend of Jackson-hyung, noona. Bambam’s boyfriend.” Youngjae said, giving out a nervous chuckle while his hands kept holding his thighs tightly. He was wearing black shorts and a hoodie of the same color, so his soft legs were showing once again.

 

Not that Jaebum was staring, of course.

 

But he could still see remains of the marks he left the night they spent together.

 

“Oh, well… So you are friends?” Jisun was smiling from ear to ear hearing that. “That’s wonderful!”

 

None of them knew how to explain they weren’t exactly friends, that they actually barely knew each other, but had an intense make-out session last time they met. Jaebum knew that information could compromise his career and Youngjae also didn’t feel comfortable sharing so much about his sexual life, as much as he trusted his older sister.

 

“I guess you can put it this way. But now, how do _you_ know each other?” Youngjae wondered, really intrigued by the situation.

 

“I’ve been Jisun’s company lawyer for some time now.” Jaebum answered scratching the back of his neck due to uneasiness. Youngjae smiled as he understood the situation.

 

“So you’re noona’s favorite dongsaeng!” He laughed making the raven-haired blush a little. The latter had an enormous ego, still, Youngjae managed to make him _shy_. “I got really jealous… Honestly...”

 

“Shut up, Choi Youngjae.” Jisun said in a playful tone. “But anyway, Jaebum-ah… I invited you here for a special reason.” She started to explain, focusing his gaze at him. “Me and Jonghyun, you know we cherish you a lot, always relying on your capabilities as a lawyer, but… As a person too… You’re very close to us, so when we were thinking about our best men, you immediately came to our minds. You and Youngjae are the ones we rely on the most and we want you to make our special day even better, so… Would you accept to be our best man? Jae already did, now I want to hear it from you. It would mean a lot to me.”

 

Jaebum was speechless. Once Jinyoung - his best friend, as a matter of fact - said he would _never_ choose the raven-haired as his best man because they must say some _nice_ words in their speech, which Jaebum could never, since he didn’t know a thing about love.

 

As much as the older hated to admit it, this time Jinyoung was right about his lack of knowledge. It was the ugly truth. He couldn’t picture himself standing in front of everyone babbling about something he never felt thus refused to believe. It was probably going to sound completely bitter and awful, just like everything he said.

 

Still, how he could say no to Jisun? She’d certainly be disappointed if he refused and Jaebum didn’t want to let down someone he actually cared about. He was never one to care about what others would think about him, but noona was different. Besides being a woman, she was his boss and, more than that, a friend.

 

However, Jaebum didn’t think he’d be a good best man at all. He couldn’t even congratulate her properly when she announced she got engaged. Now that she was _actually_ getting married, he doubted he could say anything nicer than a “congratulations”.

 

She and Youngjae kept looking at him, looking forward for an answer. They were smiling brightly, that spontaneous smile was probably inherited from their parents, and although they looked very calm, it only made Jaebum feel even more pressured.

 

He wondered what did he do to deserve such weird things happening in his life that suddenly. He silently hoped to wake up from that dream.

 

“Of course, noona… I… I’d be honored.” The raven-haired hesitated at first, but he had no choice.

 

Jisun got so excited she hugged Jaebum tightly, not even letting him respond to the gesture due to the embrace.

 

He was still trying to process what just happened.

 

He’d be the best man of his noona’s wedding along with Youngjae. Youngjae was Jisun’s brother. Youngjae was the person he spent the night with some days ago. Youngjae was the fortune-teller who said someone would come into Jaebum’s life to turn it upside down.

 

Youngjae was that someone.

 

 _Was he_?

 

No. Absolutely not. Jaebum concluded he was delusional due to sleep deprivation so he immediately shook his head to make those thoughts go away. No. Although he was going crazy since getting bewitched, although he could feel the mental breakdown coming at any moment… He still didn’t believe in fortune-telling. There was no one capable of making his life a mess and there would never be. It’s impossible for things to change so fast. It might be a work of the _unbalanced chakras_ , as Youngjae would put it, but soon things would become normal again. They had to.

 

Of course agreeing with being Jisun’s best man would lead to more encounters with Youngjae. Actually, the fact the younger was his favorite client’s little brother would probably made it impossible to avoid him from now on, which made Jaebum shiver again. His head had already started to hurt from thinking so much of Youngjae. Why did it keep happening?

 

Why couldn’t things be like a judicial process? They worked just like a cake recipe, no hardships, no misleading informations, you just had to follow the jurisprudence to avoid the unpredictable. And even if there was something unpredictable, it could be easily solved if you studied the case a bit more, analyzing all the possibilities… Why did personal affairs have to be so tiring?

 

He would never have been able to predict what would be happen in a week - the worst things imaginable were nothing compared the situation he got himself into. What happened for things to start to go so wrong?

 

He needed to get out of there and take out his frustration somewhere.

 

“So, it’s settled!” Jisun finally let go of the embrace. She was so cheerful her eyes were bright. “I’ll also have to ask you guys to help me with some arrangements. Since Jonghyun wants a very discreet ceremony, we only invited a few friends and we’re not willing to spend a lot of money. We don’t actually know what kind of wedding it’s going to be, but we still have two months, so you two can help me, right? It’s going to be fine.”

 

“Aigoo, noona… You really have to start to plan things on the right time.” Jaebum shook his head, lecturing the woman at first, but then he couldn’t help laughing. She stuck her tongue out in response.

 

“She’s always like this.” Youngjae said, glancing at the woman standing in front of him. “Guess it’s a family thing.”

 

“I’ll text you guys later with your schedule for the next weeks. This is going to demand some time, from both of you, but please do your best, okay?” She winked playfully.

 

Youngjae and Jaebum nodded.

 

The three of them kept talking for some time, but the raven-haired didn’t paid attention at all, his thoughts wandering away as he wondered how things would be on the next days. He felt his stomach tighten, his hands started sweating uncontrollably and everytime he looked at Youngjae, everything else would spin.

 

Yet he couldn’t understand why.

 

Youngjae, on the other hand, looked as serene as ever.

 

When Jisun finally said goodbye because she had to go to work, Youngjae walked Jaebum to the door. The older took the opportunity to give his phone back, which had been on his pocket until now.

 

The object that should have been responsible for their unwanted encounter but, in the end, wasn’t needed at all to bring them back together. Maybe it was destiny playing with them again.

 

“Thanks for keeping my phone during these days, hyung.” Youngjae thanked. “I’m still a bit surprised my sister knows you, even more that you were chosen to be her best man. But I hope we can get along well.”

 

“I’m surprised too.” Jaebum admited. If he was Jisun, he’d never make that request, but since he wasn’t, there was no way to stop what was going to happen. “As long as you don’t babble about that mystic bullshit you love so much, we won’t have any problems.”

 

“I know I said it before but it’s a shame you can’t shut your mouth, you know?” He grinned. “When you’re trying to be polite, or when you’re quiet, I think you’re kinda hot.”

 

The raven-haired wanted to give him a witty answer, but before he could the younger pushed him and shut the door in his face.

 

His laugh could be heard even from the outside.

**(...)**

Jaebum dialed Jinyoung’s number once again. This time he answered in the third beep.

 

 _“Is this about the epsom salt bath again?”_ The younger grumbled. He was probably on his morning break and most likely had a stressful morning, but Jaebum didn’t have the time to ask questions especially if they would lead people to think that he cared about anyone besides himself.

 

“Are you free this evening?”

 

_“Yes. Why?”_

 

“Because destiny wants me to be with Youngjae.”


	5. Take a chance on me

“So you’re saying Youngjae-ah is Jisun’s little brother?” Jinyoung took a sip of his tea with surprised eyes, slowing his pace as his mouth opened in a ‘O’ shape. “I see. That’s... Unexpected.” He grinned.

 

Jaebum responded rolling his eyes. He knew his friend was mocking him after he had the guts to spill the details about everything that happened between him and Youngjae - snogging and conspiratorial theories included. Some serious business related, as you can see, yet his friend still managed to think it was a _joke_.

 

Not that the raven-haired wanted it to be true either. He still thought there was no way in hell he could be in love, however, it was undeniable that everything was falling apart and the fault was on Youngjae, therefore he needed to vent it out in order to stay sane.

 

His friend Jinyoung (should he really be calling him that?), unfortunately, had been his loyal listener for several years, so he had no choice but to contact him. Those were the moments Jaebum regretted immensely being such an antisocial kid in the past.

 

“Don’t act if that’s the only important thing, okay?” The raven-haired muttered as he let out an unsatisfied sigh. “Can’t you see everything that’s happening is because he predicted it? He was the one who casted a spell on me! Because he didn’t like me! It has to be him! He made me feel like _this_.”

 

“You mean he’s the one you’re attracted to?” Jinyoung arched his brows just in time to dodge the older’s hand aiming to hit him hard in the face. Well, he couldn’t help being a perceptive person…

 

“Say that again and I’ll kill you. I’m… Not attracted… To him...” Jaebum clenched his teeth. He almost couldn’t spit out the last sentence out loud, at least not without having the urge to throw up. His jaw was so clenched it was probably on its way to Brazil.

 

“So why are you so tense, hyung?” Jinyoung finally had found a way to get his friend out of guard. “I mean… You guys will have to stand each other for two months, but it’s not like you’re going to meet everyday. Besides, until a few days ago, you hadn’t met him before. After you finish your duties, you probably won’t have to see him again… Nothing’s gonna change, but isn’t that why you’re like this? Because _you_ are a different person than you were before. Because of _him_ , everything has changed.”

 

“Stop talking nonsense. I haven’t changed at all. And once this shit’s over, I’ll prove you’re wrong.”

 

“I’m not the one you have to prove something, though.” Jinyoung smiled. “It’s yourself.”

 

**(...)**

Jaebum could only describe the first week with Youngjae as _torture_.

 

After spending the first few days discussing about every little thing without coming to a conclusion, the two of them had to meet again. They were sitting at a vegan restaurant (Jisun was right when she told the food was awful), still trying to decide what kind of wedding party would fit the occasion better, pointlessly being selfish that their own decisions were the best.

 

It was a Saturday morning and they both would rather enjoy the sunny day doing something more thrilling than being stuck with each other against their will, but it was helpless. They had things to do and the only way of getting them done was to meet each other and finish everything as soon as possible, thus they’d finally be free.

 

The decision had to be made that day since it was the deadline. They had to call Jisun until noon to tell what their plans were, but, the problem was there was none. They disagreed about every issue brought up and ended up taking a lot more time than the acceptable to come back to their senses.

 

However, it was already expected.

 

Jaebum had always been a conservative man therefore he suggested the wedding ceremony (and party) to be as traditional as possible, without any eccentricities, which, needless to say, was exactly what Youngjae wanted. The fortune-teller had the ceremony completely planned inside his head - he wanted a lot of flowers, mystic stones and anything that could bring good energies to the couple decorating the place. It was like he had spent years and years deciding everything exactly the way he dreamed, and it was going to be perfect if it wasn’t the fact Jaebum _existed_ to ruin his plans.

 

The younger had even decided the soundtrack by himself, which, in the given moment, he decided to show Jaebum. They were sharing headphones and listening to the song he had choose to play during Jisun and Jonghyun’s waltz - the name was 4EVER (written _exactly_ like that), sang by Lil’ Mo, whom, by the way, Jaebum had no idea who it was.

 

Either way he was paying attention to the lyrics to understand what they meant.

 

**Now that love's taken over**

**I'm 100% sure that it's here to stay**

**I ain't got no issues standing in my way**

**I ain't goin nowhere, you ain't goin nowhere so…**

**Let's make it official**

 

The raven-haired did his best to hide his disgusted face, but he didn’t need to - it soon disappeared when Youngjae started excitedly singing along with messy english words, closed eyes, beaming smile.

 

Jaebum could tell the younger enjoyed himself a lot. He always seemed cheerful, was it doing pancakes or singing a horrible song, happiness overflowed his self, not giving a single care about people around, as long as it was fun.

 

Something Jaebum noticed about Youngjae during the time they had spent together was his lightheart - he wanted to be himself, not to fit. He wanted socially acceptable rules to go to hell everytime he laughed soundly, not minding he’d caught everyone’s eyes. His carefree personality always brought the best of him, and, as time passed, people didn’t seem to mind. It was like his presence was soothing, dazzling, impossible to explain through words… It simply captivated everyone around him.

 

Even the raven-haired grew accustomed to his Youngjae’s lively spirit - and he hated that. He hated happy people the most. But not that one.

 

Youngjae knew very well how to cast spells, that’s what Jaebum thought everytime he caught himself smiling looking at the guy. It wasn’t love, it was just his mischievous skills working perfectly fine.

 

Or maybe it was his sweet-like-honey voice, which made the older feel weirder and weirder as the music kept playing.

 

Eventually Youngjae opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Jaebum, singing to him and swaying along with the rhythm discreetly so that the raven-haired was the only one to notice. _Why did he have to be like that?_ So annoying. And he just wouldn’t quit it.

 

Instead he kept smiling widely unaware of how much that melted Jaebum’s insides, causing the older to become helpless as he didn’t know how to stop the feeling of his stomach wanting to come out of his mouth.

 

The countless heartbeats couldn’t be stopped either, they were so fast it was impossible to keep up with the pace. But they made his chest ache nonetheless.

 

It had been like that for a while - even when Youngjae wasn’t doing anything at all, his body tensed up, showing reactions he couldn’t control.

 

“Can you live with it? Loving me for live, to have and hold forever…”

 

Jaebum bit his lower lip. _Could he_?

 

The younger decided to change the song after a while since it just kept repeating the chorus and he still had a lot more to show. There were at least five hundred songs on his playlist, all craving to be listened in that short amount of time.

 

“So what did you think about it, hyung?” He asked while distracting himself with the vegan pie he had just ordered; it smelled even better since his stomach had been completely empty since he woke up.

 

“It’s not that the song is bad… But… I wouldn’t like if it played at my wedding party.” The older didn’t try to argue the fact the song was completely awful, which was indeed surprising, but the reason was mostly because he was too busy (desperately) looking through the playlist to find something better. “Don’t you have anything more classic here?” A frown formed on his face looking at the three Beyoncé songs that appeared on the phone screen.

 

If he wasn’t there to help, Youngjae was bound to turn the wedding ceremony into something that wouldn’t resemble a wedding at all.

 

“Actually, I don’t.” The younger pouted admitting his own defeat. “But Jisun-noona said herself she doesn’t want anything classic, so I had to pick some modern songs. She made it clear that they won’t dance to old stuff and I don’t want my sister mad at me.”

 

“Fine, but… The song has to fit the couple, you know?” Jaebum suggested in a _way_ gentler tone that he wished to, therefore he immediately clenched his jaw to seem more serious. “Hm. Let’s see, what kind of music would you like to dance at your wedding?”

 

“There’s only one answer for that question.” Youngjae answered abruptly since he had made his choice when he was just a little boy and his decision never wavered since then. “Everywhere by Stevie Nicks.”

 

“It’s Jinyoung’s favorite. That one is cheesy.” Jaebum grimaced remembering the countless times his best friend listened to that on the car repeatedly.

 

Mark sang together too, which by far was the worst part.

 

“Jinyoung-hyung has a nice musical taste, but what about you? Too good for some nice songs? Do you only like classics?” He mocked, then stuck his tongue out playfully. “Bo-ring!”

 

“Actually…” Jaebum stared at Youngjae’s phone screen for a while, finally laying his eyes on a song he knew for a long time. And he still liked it; even though it seemed extremely embarrassing to share details about his musical taste when he was younger, now he had to make an exception. He couldn’t let the brunette diss him like that! He had his pride as a hyung, after all. “I like this one. Lady, by D’Angelo.” After making the shocking statement he sang a verse quickly, forgetting everything about the dignity he used to brag so much about.

 

Youngjae was indeed surprised seeing how his eyes widened suddenly, but then his smile got so bright it was impossible to handle. Jaebum’s cheeks got red and warm as he noticed what he just did in order to prove the younger he wasn’t as boring as he appeared.

 

“You? A D’Angelo fan?” The brunette asked, shocked. “Since when?”

 

“Since I was a teenager, why? Is it that surprising?” The older was doing his best to handle the situation as if he didn’t care at all, but considering Youngjae’s face got closer to his, he started to become desperate. “I… I used to b-boy as well. You can ask Jinyoung if you want.” As much as he loved to boost his own ego, he’d never imagine to brag about things he used to be ashamed of. Those were some embarrassing memories of his high school days which he buried completely once graduation came.

 

“So you were cool back then, hyung?” Youngjae giggled. “I’d always pictured you as the teacher’s pet, the one that everyone hates.”

 

“I was pretty much the opposite of that.” Jaebum felt oddly satisfied noting the amount of attention he was receiving from the younger just because of those stupid stories about his teenage days. Although he’d certainly kill Jinyoung if showed a picture of them back in that time, deep down he cherished remembering memories of the past. “I loved dancing, I used to do it all day so I didn’t really care about anything else… Not even girls. That’s probably why they loved me so much, but truth is you can’t live life carelessly forever. I had to face my responsibilities, adulthood isn’t a dream, you have to go through a lot. So you end up becoming boring, but that day will come for you too. It comes for everyone.”

 

“Do you miss living carelessly? You know, dancing, not giving a fuck about the world, no pressure, no worries, just being you?”

 

“Well, it has been a while since I did that, but I’m still me.” Jaebum shrugged.  “I don’t even remember how I felt anymore, but it felt good during that time. Not anymore, though. The past is in the past, now I’m happy making people go bankrupt without giving a fuck about the world. I look even cooler.”

 

“Hyung, you’re funny. You always manage to surprise me… Lawyer and b-boy dancer?” Youngjae found it amusing in a very peculiar way, but something about Jaebum’s straightforwardness was endearing - it made the younger feel comfortable, as if they could have a nice conversation about anything in that moment. _Thank God for D'Angelo_. “If I had known this before, I’d be interested. Maybe I’d even have given you a chance.”

 

“So all this effort I’m making to get your attention was in vain, seeing I could’ve just said I was a dancer?” Jaebum wiggled his brows playfully, grinning from ear to ear. An odd sight indeed, especially when he was known as Mr. Grumpy.

 

“The great Im Jaebum is trying to impress a mere mortal like me? I’m flattered.”

 

“It depends.” Not knowing what did he want to hear from Youngjae, he just went with the flow, even though it wasn’t the wisest decision for someone walking straight to fall into the _bottom pit_. “Did it work?”

 

Youngjae winked, taking his time to answer.

 

“Who knows? Don’t wanna boost your ego that easily.”

 

That was it. It only took this simple answer to make Jaebum feel agitated, his whole body shivering being flooded by an unknown happiness.

 

What was that feel? If he didn’t love Youngjae, why was he so glad seeing the younger act spontaneously? Why did the warm filling him whenever Youngjae was around never going away? Why was he so comfortable talking to him to the point he could even talk about himself?

 

Every day he spent with the brunette, the awareness of the supposedly unknown feeling started to become helpless. He couldn’t deny it, yet he couldn’t face it as well.

 

_Because you are a different person than you were before._

_Because of him, everything has changed_.

 

What did he want to prove to Jinyoung, after all?

 

What did he want to prove to himself?

 

Coming to a conclusion seemed even worse than keep confusing himself with those twisted thoughts.

 

**(...)**

 

“Hm… So even people like Im Jaebum have a soft side, I see.” Youngjae pointed out rhetorically, his body sprawled on Yugyeom’s bed as he stared at the ceiling.

 

“Who the fuck is Im Jaebum?” The younger inquired, eyes demanding Youngjae to give him a bit of space on his own bed, making it obvious he was already very moody due to lack of sleep. Obviously he knew who the fuck was that guy, he had heard his name at least a _gazillion_ times during the night; needless to say, Yugyeom wanted to break things everytime his friend denied how attracted he was to that Jaebum. Couldn’t he just stop fooling himself, like a normal person?

 

“He’s the lawyer I’ve been talking about all this time. You do have a bad memory, don’t you, Gyeomie?” The brunette turned his body to face Yugyeom, their faces leaning very close to each other, as it always happened whenever they slept together. Not that they cared, anyway. Their friendship was comfortable like that. “Can you believe he’s a D’Angelo fan? It was on the playlist because you told me to listen to it, but I haven’t since then.”

 

“Yeah. I told you to listen to it _three years ago_ , but now this guy comes and suddenly you want to become D’Angelo’s number one fan in less than 24 hours?” Yugyeom sighed. It was enough drama for one night, he wished Youngjae stopped being so stubborn about his own feelings. “Face it, you’re crazy about him.”

 

“Don’t be stupid, Gyeomie. You know what they say… Know your enemy.”

 

“I’ve never heard of this saying.” Yugyeom replied. “But, hey, wanna know what they _really_ say? That the first stage of true love is denial.”

 

**(...)**

 

Some time passed since then. Now they had already decided what kind of wedding ceremony it would be: a classic modern ceremony, as Jisun liked to call.

 

When Jaebum and Youngjae finally agreed on what they wanted to do about decoration, food and playlists, it was almost unbelievable. They suddenly started to work very well together and soon became an awesome (and intriguing) duo, although none of them would admit it if you asked. Their decisions just got along when put together and created something very interesting.

 

They only had two weeks until wedding day arrived and the raven-haired had been completely out of his mind during the past days. Whenever he thought about what happened, he’d try to figure things out until he had no choice but to accept the truth.

 

In the given moment he was laying on the enormous red carpet on his living room, staring at the ceiling.

 

Youngjae had just left. He gave Jaebum a kiss on the cheek before doing so, which means the tingling sensation on the raven-haired’s hadn’t gone away yet. He doubted it would anytime soon.

 

And he wanted to scream.

 

Not because he was angry, but because he was in love. Deeply.

 

Im Jaebum, lawyer, born on January 6th, 27 years old, currently living in Seoul, had finally fallen in love.

 

And the person who made him feel like this was Choi Youngjae, who messed up all his insides and made him forgot everything he knew about him.

 

The fortune-teller that predicted someone would turn Jaebum’s life upside down was also the one at fault for that. There was no other person in the world that could make the older spent the whole night listening to D’Angelo and fantasizing about a future together, eating organic ice-cream and taking Nora for a walk (the second scenario wasn’t bound to happen since the raven-haired found out Youngjae was pretty allergic to cats, but one can dream, right?). There was no other person in the world that could make Jaebum wake up early in the morning with a huge smile hovering on his face even if the older knew he wouldn’t be making any money during the day. There was no other person in the world capable of making him go crazy over a kiss on the cheek.

 

There was no other person in the world like Choi Youngjae.

 

It took long enough for Jaebum to finally face it, but now he was very aware. That was it. _Love_.

 

The days he had to meet with Youngjae, at first, were very hard to endure as they passed very slowly, as he was being forced to be there, however, time suddenly started to go faster and faster the more he grew attached to the brunette. As if all the time in the world wasn’t enough.

 

Jaebum started to miss the younger when he wasn’t around; he missed his laugh echoing through the room, his shiny eccentric clothes blinding everyone around him, his brown hair beautifully placed on his forehead because he was too lazy to cut it… Everything.

 

In the end, even his talks about astrology and mysticism became something the raven-haired grew fond of. Although it wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, seeing Youngjae smile vividly as he explained how the universe worked was enough keep Jaebum’s mouth shut, unable to make any bitter comments.

 

But then those comments just disappeared from his mind, being replaced by way nicer things. He started to become soft.

 

And, believe it, he tried hard to fight back. In the beginning he denied so willingly that Jinyoung, for a brief moment, believed his friend could get rid of the spell casted on him due to determination. But it didn’t work; things just kept changing instead.

 

Suddenly Youngjae wasn’t the tricky scammer he was in the beginning of the story anymore. All the bad things Jaebum had to say about him changed as well. Jaebum had become sweeter, always telling Jinyoung how much he had fun spending the day with his _crush_ , always smiling discreetly as he started to welcome the warm feeling he had never experienced before.

 

The twirls on his stomach got replaced by a dazzling sensation and every touch, as brief as they seemed, were enough to leave Jaebum happy for hours, even days. His thoughts got filled by Youngjae, he couldn’t stop thinking about him, but that didn’t bother him anymore. He just let the younger wander there as long as he wanted, never getting enough of him, always paying attention to the smallest details, always thinking of him fondly.

 

With all that distraction, Jaebum’s work was completely set aside.

 

For the first time the raven-haired was experiencing something completely new inside his world. _His tiny little world_ , as Youngjae liked to put it, especially when he wanted to point out the greatness of the universe and how small people were compared to the infinity that kept expanding itself in front of our eyes, creating an uncountable amount of possibilities. _An infinity impossible to reach_ , but, still, Jaebum felt he was very close to it.

 

And that was also a first. Well, he had already achieved plenty of stuff on the financial field, but he never felt whole because of that, he never felt like he could fulfill that possibility… Of having the universe on the palm of his hands.

 

But then he came into his life.

 

Youngjae.

 

Jaebum still didn’t understand why nor could put it into words, but he started to accepted. If the universe wanted things to happen that way, was it because of its own will or witchcraft, there was nothing he could do. He had tried everything already and it became too tiring to try to deny it. Maybe the tarot cards were right, maybe things were meant to be like that, maybe he was out of his mind… Honestly, he gave up. He couldn’t even get mad things weren’t flowing as smoothly as he planned at first.

 

He had finally reached the bottom pit, indeed, but it wasn’t that bad. Youngjae was there too, to make him feel at ease.

 

Now he understood why Jisun accepted going out with Jonghyun even if she “hated” him, why Mark knew all Jinyoung’s favorite songs and always sang along with him, why Jackson insisted on calling Bambam pet-names as if it had a whole different meaning for them.

 

Almost three months had passed since Youngjae came into Jaebum’s life and the latter finally could see himself in the same position as his friends, even though he wasn’t intending to make a fool of himself because of the younger, he cared for him immensely.

 

And that’s what made him feel so close to have the universe on his own hands - being with the person you love is almost the same as that. The uncountable amount of possibilities the raven-haired created on his mind whenever Youngjae was around, the feeling that kept expanding itself until it felt infinity, thus impossible to hide. It was hard to explain, like a chain reaction, his feelings had become so big they couldn’t pass unnoticed anymore. He had to let them out.

 

Problem was: Jaebum had no idea how to do that. Jinyoung, who, by the way, was having the time of his life seeing his best friend have his first love, said to him that it would come up _naturally_. Bullshit. There was no way you could be naturally romantic and be Im Jaebum at the same time. It was oil and water, a mixture that would never work.  

 

Never had Jaebum expressed his feelings before, at least not without appearing completely fake and pretentious, therefore how was it possible for him to show what he felt towards Youngjae?

 

Love, in theory, was a very beautiful thing - very easy to talk about. You could always use metaphors such as reaching the infinity of universe to explain the feeling; Jaebum had learned to appreciate the poetry love carried within itself through a book called “Love for dummies” that Jinyoung lent to give him some tips, but even though now the raven-haired could make a nice speech about what he had learned, the real situation was anything but poetic.

 

In the real world there are no metaphors, just concrete things to hold onto, so people like him, who had never experienced love before, simply go berserk, spending sleepless nights thinking of their loved ones, drinking coffee until they have a mental breakdown and waking up with migraines that make them feel as if a catastrophe is occurring inside their minds.

 

Well, Jaebum should have seen it coming. After all, when the universe is expanding itself, _things explode_. He remembered very well when he studied the bigbang phenomenon in school, but he never thought of having a first-hand experience. On his insides.

 

If loving someone meant creating and destroying the universe, it definitely was as scary as it seemed.

 

_Who’d think a simple kiss on the cheek would lead all that commotion?_

 

**(...)**

 

The wedding was finally coming next week and the only thing left to do now was choosing the outfits they’d wear. Obviously they’d have to race against time to find nice clothes, but luckily Jisun knew a lot of people who could find the best clothing stores in Seoul just in time for her. Again, there was nothing that lady wanted that she didn’t get right away.

 

So there was Jaebum driving to the planned meeting place. And he was running late! Something that never had occurred before but became common in those last months. He had became a bit air-headed, as a matter of fact, but people preferred to pretend they didn’t know why so things would remain normal.

 

Truth about love is it only messes _your_ insides, the rest of the world remains untouched and everyone tend to rather stay like that, ignoring the fact you look like a piece of trash with large bags under your eyes and moving on with their lives.

 

When Jaebum parked and got out of the car, he immediately searched for the “brightest store around the corner” as Youngjae told him through a text message, but, honestly, searching didn’t took long. His eyes soon landed on the brunette who was far more shiny than everything around him, especially because in that day he decided to wear a red satin shirt with puffy sleeves and a lot of silver tingling necklaces. Not exactly the most discreet look in history of fashion. Actually, he looked so weird he could be mistaken with one of the thrift shop’s mannequins if he stood still for a while.

 

But, as expected, he didn’t. He turned around and his eyes met with Jaebum’s. They waved at each other, which pretty much made the raven-haired’s legs feel like jelly, but he kept walking as if nothing happened. Despite being desperate to get into the store and meet the person he had been thinking about all day, he needed to look cool. No one had to know he spent the last 12 hours listening to the best 70’s love songs so that he could feel _inspired_ \- as Jinyoung advised him on the phone.

 

Apparently the store owner was also very fond of 70’s love songs since they were playing as background music. Jaebum swore he had listened to Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? by Rod Stewart for the fifteenth time already, but it fitted the mood. Oddly.

 

“Hyung!” Youngjae greeted him. “You’re late. Jisun-noona had to go to a meeting, but she choose her dress already.”

 

“I’m sorry, I guess I overslept… Is she mad at me?”

 

“You can bet she is, so much she decided you’re going to wear a sparkling pink tuxedo.” Youngjae smirked seeing Jaebum’s eyes about to pop out of his face after hearing that. “But it’s okay! Mine is a golden one and very glittery.”

 

“Who the fuck choose this color palette?” The raven-haired grimaced. _Sparkling_ and _pink_ weren’t exactly what he was expecting when he came to the store, so he was worried how he’d look wearing that. Probably bad.

 

“Me, of course. You were supposed to wear the golden glittery one, but Jisun said this is your punishment for being late, so there’s nothing I can do. On the other hand, I personally think you’re gonna look cute, hyung.” Jaebum found it pretty funny that Youngjae was already picturing him in such a horrendous outfit. Couples tend to do that, don’t they?

 

“Have you ever considered that we’re gonna look flashy enough to make people stop paying attention to the grooms? Golden and pink aren’t exactly what I had in mind. Maybe we should look for something more plain and less… Sparkling?”

 

“No way. When you see Jisun’s dress, you’ll know why I choose that for us. We’re gonna look like mere Christmas decoration compared to her.” Youngjae explained and Jaebum was starting to fear the wedding’s outcome - at least in the fashion way. “But now let’s go… I really want to see you wearing that, hyung.”

 

Youngjae hurried up and held Jaebum’s hand on the way to the dressing room, asking nicely for the salesperson to show them the way.

 

Jaebum concluded maybe sparkling pink wasn’t so bad after all.

 

**(...)**

 

“Yah! I knew you’d look good!” Youngjae clapped his hands when Jaebum got out of the dressing room with his sparkling pink tuxedo millimetrically adjusted to his body and a black necktie hanging neatly there as well - a failed attempt to make the look seem more normal.

 

The dressing room was huge and empty since, apparently, that clothing store wasn’t very famous among men. All their pieces were too shiny, there was no way to know if they were meant to be worn at wedding parties or to Korea’s hottest disco club, but Jaebum had to admit… It fitted Jisun’s personality. It looked crazy, just like her. But in a good way.

 

However, it was completely embarrassing be in a _sparkling pink tuxedo_ in a room full of mirrors to see it from every possible angle. If that was how people would see him on the wedding day, it wasn’t going to be amusing at all.

 

“You don’t look bad, either.” Jaebum said as he stepped closer to Youngjae, standing in front of him. The closer to the sight, the better it could be contemplated, after all. “It’s better than those puffy sleeves, but your necktie is out of place.”

 

The older then reached the piece of clothing with his hand to fix it. He was so used to do that he didn’t even think it might have been a little too _intimate_ thing to do to someone without asking first, but Youngjae didn’t seem to mind. Actually, the latter was paying attention to see if he could learn how to do it properly.

 

“I’ll never be able to do this.” Youngjae pointed at the necktie while Jaebum focused on what he was doing. “I’d kill myself if I had to wear a necktie everyday.”

 

“They don’t fit your style.” The raven-haired finally let go of the knot he had just adjusted, but he didn’t step away from the brunette. Even if it messed his mind to the point he thought he was going to collapse, being away from Youngjae was even worse since he missed his warmness so much.

 

“Are you trying to say I don’t look good?” The younger asked increduously.

 

“No, I’m saying I like you. The way you are.”

 

For the first time Jaebum could see confusion on Youngjae’s eyes, which made him think, for a second, that it was possible his feelings were returned. Maybe he affected him as well, seeing how surprised he was.

 

The raven-haired wondered what Youngjae was thinking in that moment, if, by any chance, it was something good. He wondered if he should let go and just pretend they weren’t so close to each other a while ago… But then, it was impossible. He couldn’t hide anymore how much Youngjae affected him, how much he was willing to give to the younger if he let him, how much he longed for his touch.

 

How much he hated to pretend he wasn’t in love with that person. So he wouldn’t. Not anymore.

 

He landed his eyes on Youngjae’s face once again, analyzing his features calmly, wishing time would stop so that he could look at him more. It had been a while since they were so close; the older wanted it to last longer since last time he was too drunk to pay attention to the details of such an unique person. He loved everything about Youngjae, from his oily skin (because not everything is perfect when you’re not living a drama) to the tip of his rosy nose… He looked just right.

 

Jaebum was sure he could stay there forever, gazing at the his own particular universe, standing right in front of him, causing his feelings to grow even more.

 

Closer enough for him to reach it. And never let go.

 

Jaebum’s hands landed on Youngjae’s cheeks as their lips locked together once again.

 

It didn’t resemble the first time at all. Kissing the brunette after confirming his own feelings towards him made everything different.

 

Although that wasn’t Jaebum’s first kiss, it certainly felt like one, such innocence and warmness within the gest made it simply genuine. He finally got to touch the person he cared about the most, and he wanted to cherish him as much as he could. It was hard to accept the fact everything changed so much after Youngjae stepped into his life, but it was okay now. Jaebum just had to act _naturally_.

 

_Because you are a different person than you were before._

 

Loving someone… It was weird; especially considering the raven-haired had spent almost three decades not having a clue what that feeling was about, it still felt a little out of place. But it was true. It only took three months for Choi Youngjae mess everything up, but even if he was the one at fault, when their lips parted, Jaebum felt at ease.

 

Because love, just like the universe, is the result of chaos. You simply can’t get away with it without suffering some damage, but in the end everything falls into place and you can see it was worth it. The destruction gives birth to something more beautiful and kinder than before.

 

Yes, Jaebum had been through hell during those months because of Youngjae. He couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t work, he couldn’t even _live_ the life he wanted, but, in the given moment, there were no regrets. He’d do everything again - going to the fortune-teller with Jinyoung, accepting being Jisun’s best men - if that meant his path would cross Youngjae’s again. It was not the bottom pit, it was a fresh new beginning ahead of him.

 

_Yeah, he was definitely getting better at using metaphors_.

 

“Jaebum… Hyung…” Youngjae’s face was bright red as he placed his fingers on his lips, still puzzled due to what just happened.

 

He didn’t walk away, nevertheless.

 

“When you first told me I’d find a person that would turn my world upside down and that destiny would act so that I’d end up together with them, I really couldn’t believe.” Jaebum rubbed his nape nervously. Confessing wasn’t really his thing. He felt so uneasy he was sure he’d throw up his breakfast at any moment, however, he could only wish his choice of words wouldn’t be as bad as what he had eaten in the morning.  “But the more we got closer… The more I changed. I know it might sound stupid- saying that I feel like this towards you because of the universe. I also know I’m contradicting myself by admitting that, but, honestly, my life has been full of contradictions since you came into it and I’ve learned to cherish all of them. Just as much as I cherish you. Youngjae-ah, I really like you.”

 

Silence filled the empty room at the same time anxiety filled Jaebum’s chest. His heart kept beating fast, his breath was unsteady, his body felt numb. Call it love or embarrassment, it was a bit unacceptable for a lawyer to feel that speechless… But yet, there he was. Helpless.

 

Youngjae didn’t say anything for a while. Anyone could see how affected he was because of the confession, his mouth was hanging open, trying to make words come out, but they wouldn’t. It was impossible to read what _exactly_ he was thinking, only confusion could be seen through his semblant. Maybe hearing those words coming from Im Jaebum was not as easy as it seemed - only Youngjae could say what was it like, since he was the first one.

 

“You… Are you serious?” The younger asked, not intending to sound mocking at all. He was actually a bit concerned. “Are you in love with me, hyung?”

 

Youngjae pointed at himself, his gaze still lingering on Jaebum, who nodded immediately, completely sure of what he just did.

 

But then the brunette’s expression changed.

 

Things were never so easy.

 

“Hyung, I’m sorry, but I think you got it wrong.” Youngjae stepped back seeing the frown on Jaebum’s look, as if the latter noticed it wasn’t going to be the way he had planned. He was also very aware he had just made a fool of himself in front of Youngjae by being _honest_. How worse could that get? “I make predictions, but I’m not part of them. Everything we did together… Well, it was fun. You’re a nice person to be with, don’t get me wrong, I admit I misjudged you in the beginning, but… Us… It won’t work out, you know?” The raven-haired crossed his arms in a defensive manner, not even a slightly bit of amusement hearing those words. Did Youngjae think it was that easy? That he could simply mess up with his head and heart then act as if he had nothing to do with it? “We’re opposites in every way. Even though we get along now, I doubt it’s gonna be like this forever. It would get bad. Remember how we were at the beginning? Do you _really_ want to be with someone like me? Having to deal with everything you hate the most just because of me?”

 

Jaebum didn’t bother answering. There was nothing let to say.

 

Youngjae stopped them before they could even start.

 

_Because you are a different person than you were before._

_Because of him, everything has changed._

 

The raven-haired couldn’t help but wonder...

 

If he had been capable of changing because of Youngjae, why couldn’t he do the same?


	6. Sunshine on a cloudy day

Youngjae sat on the kitchen bench to get a taste of a delicious and perfectly reddish apple that would finally make his hunger go away, however, it was easier said than done. Really. No one should have to eat with Yugyeom and Bambam sending death glares towards them - it becomes extremely _hard_ to enjoy the moment.

 

The reason behind that tension? Im Jaebum, of course. The brunette had told his friends about what happened at the fitting room, the way the lawyer left without saying a word after his confession got rejected and how he never appeared again. Youngjae had honestly hoped the man would get a hold of himself because of course those feelings weren’t real, however, seeing how things went, that wasn’t the expected outcome. Now they were only three days away from the wedding and Jaebum still hadn’t appeared at his front door claiming that was a lame joke which he only did because, well... He was stupid.

 

If Youngjae was desperate? Yeah. A bit. And kind of worried as well.

 

Would he say that out loud? Hell no. He was surprisingly rational when it came to expressing his own feelings, but he’d be lying if he said what happened hadn’t made him feel weird. The feeling was similar to when your back is scratching and you can’t reach the spot - it never left, yet you had no one to ask for help, so it only became more unbearable. Not even asking Jisun about the raven-haired eased his mind, especially considering his _beloved_ sister didn’t actually give an answer. All Youngjae knew was Jaebum wasn’t answering any calls, communicating only through text messages.

 

However, the lawyer didn’t seem the type to mourn when heartbroken, so maybe he was just being dramatic or in a bad mood. Which was also weird, though. Youngjae had calculated his drama would only last two days - the most you can suffer because of someone you’ve barely met and consequently _do not_ love.

 

Problem was something had really, really gone wrong. He knew it. And judging by the look on his friend’s faces, they also knew it. It’s just that he couldn’t believe it. He was one of the best math students on his class, plus predictions were his speciality… So how could have he, out of all people, made a mistake? It was almost like he got an equation to solve but just draw a painting as an answer instead. In other words, it was impossible, he was a physician and he knew how to read people… It couldn’t have gone wrong.

 

Could it?

 

“I seriously can’t fucking believe you’re that dumb.” Yugyeom ran a hand through his hair due to frustration, Bambam kept his arms crossed and an extremely judgmental look. They were way beyond pissed even though they barely knew Jaebum, which means a lot, in case you’re wondering. For them to take the opposite side meant Youngjae had really fucked up this time. “It’s so obvious the guy likes you... The worst part is you like him too! Why did you have to dump him?”

 

Youngjae hesitated for a while. Answering that question wasn’t supposed to be challenging, actually, the only plausible response was: why _wouldn’t_ he dump him? He didn’t even know the guy! No matter how sweet were his words, how could they have a steady relationship having such difficult personalities? Besides, Jaebum represented everything he hated! He was a cocky Mr. Knows-it-all whom always had some kind of witty answer to give if you didn’t agree with his words and… Well… He… He had a quite nice smile and knew how to be nice and polite when not making a huge effort to be humanity’s worst scum, but, hey, whatever! For his goal to be being humanity’s worst scum actually said a lot about the person he was in the first place. So, no, Youngjae wasn’t falling for that. Don’t even go there.

 

But he had to admit those last days weren’t bad. Actually, they had a lot of fun together, however, that was completely forced, as in they were being forced to get along in order to arrange the wedding. He still couldn’t believe Jaebum thought otherwise, especially considering he always looked like he was about to throw up when Youngjae appeared. Maybe except when he confessed… He looked cute, as a matter of fact. But being cute doesn’t mean any easier to deal with.

 

_I also know I’m contradicting myself by admitting that, but, honestly, my life has been full of contradictions since you came into it and I’ve learned to cherish all of them. Just as much as I cherish you. Youngjae-ah, I really like you._

 

Youngjae took a way too aggressive bite of the apple, almost destroying the poor fruit. The heat on his cheeks could be felt immediately as he remembered Jaebum saying those sweet words. He really wanted to take that confession as a joke nonetheless, since it most likely happened because the raven-haired hadn’t had sex for a while and felt needy. Despite the fact Jaebum’s face looked truly sad when he got rejected, the younger still didn’t want to believe the mourning would last long nor that it was real. After all, no one likes to get dumped, it’s normal to react that way, especially if you’re Im Jaebum, a sex god whose people would die for an one night stand with. And who is also capable of looking extremely adorable when in love, saying the cutest things to your special one...

 

Damn, why did Youngjae dump him?

 

Oh. Right. Humanity’s worst scum. Thanks for remembering.

 

“Honestly, how dare he?” The brunette frowned, widening his eyes as he noticed he just let out his frustration out loud instead of keeping it. He had kept silent until now, refusing to cope with the childish behavior of Yugyeom and Bambam, but it became too much to bear without saying a word. “Saying he likes me out of the blue… He doesn’t even _know_ me! Why does he want to fuck me up so bad?” And not even in a _sexual_ manner, Youngjae noted, taking another bite of the apple he pretended it was Jaebum’s scalp ripped off. Why did everything had to be so confusing?

 

“People fall in love. What’s so hard to understand?” Bambam rolled his eyes showing how done he was with all the situation. “Or are you that air-head- I mean, are you that _rational_ you can’t even see something so obvious?”

 

“Why are you two so mad at me?” Youngjae was done as well. Why did his friends kept yelling at him instead of taking his side? He had done the right thing, for God’s sake! He was supposed to get praised after such a tough decision, after all rejecting Jaebum was no easy task, but he did it anyway. Where were his compliments? “Even if I had accepted his confession, we would never work things out. He’s despicable! Didn’t you see the way he behaved that night?”

 

“As a matter of fact, he’s a pretty cool guy.” Kunpimook retorted, which made Youngjae remember that Jaebum spent most of the time that day talking to his childhood friend and Jackson. “Plus, Jackson said lately Jaebum had been mentioning you a lot… But of course you would go there and make your decisions based on stubbornness and nonsensical math, just _because_. When will you learn that people are nothing like your stupid equations? That they can actually surprise you if given the chance?”

 

Youngjae had to admit he was caught off guard when Bambam mentioned Jaebum had been talking about him, but he didn’t want to seem shaken. Headstrong as he was, he’d never contradict his own mind that easily. Okay, so maybe people couldn’t be understood as easily as an equation, however, if you put some effort, you could predict them eventually. Working as a fortune-teller made him very aware of human-behavior and its patterns, he could always see where things would end, even though no one else could. It was a gift.

 

Or, at least, that’s how Youngjae used to put it until he got cornered by his friends and had to face a different outcome. But, again, what was he supposed to do? It was not like he could simply force himself to love Jaebum out of nowhere… It didn’t work this way, did it? He didn’t feel anything towards the lawyer besides that weird twirl on the stomach whenever he was around, which almost never went away. Of course Jaebum was good-looking as hell and his polite behavior made Jisun love him as a son (and believe it, it could be extremely difficult to make that woman get attached to someone, especially when said person was in charge of something at her company), but, still… Youngjae was sure his feelings for the raven-haired were mere attraction - completely normal, considering they had almost slept together. Feeling shaken by the situation was more than expected, but he had to keep in mind none of that was real. There was no way those feelings could develop into something lasting. The fortune-teller had never been in love before, so why would Jaebum be the first one?

 

“I don’t wanna waste my time.” Youngjae mumbled. Why was it so hard to convince his friends he was right?

 

“But you’re doing that already.” Yugyeom arched his brows. “Come on, Youngjae, you spent a day listening to fucking D’Angelo’s discography because of the guy. A whole day. 24 hours. Because of a person you’re supposed to hate and claim never wanting to see him again after the wedding… Isn’t that kinda odd?”

 

“It was out of curiosity, okay?” The brunette tried hard to not seem shaken with his friend’s conclusion. So what if he spent all that time listening to D’Angelo? Who cares he translated the whole _Lady_ song and pondered how did Jaebum’s romantic side look like? What’s the matter with feeling affected by the lawyer’s confession living up to his fantasies? Damn. People tend to make a commotion about every little thing. This was probably the reason the world was so messed up. No one minded their own business anymore. Rationality was lacking a lot recently.

 

“Was it out of curiosity you put the song on my wedding’s playlist as well?”

 

Suddenly, Jisun entered the kitchen with an expression hard to read as her voice filled the room. Youngjae’s eyes widened in shock, wondering how long has it been since his sister started listening to their conversation until she decided to butt in.

 

The brunette knew how much she loved Jaebum. _Her favorite child_ , as she’d always say, laughing as she pointed out tenderly. Because he helped her so much and always stood by her side, she’d always take care of him. Youngjae also remembered the look on Jisun’s face when she decided Jaebum would be her best man, how she was apprehensive, not sure if he’d take the offer since it didn’t really fit his personality. But she wanted to ask him nevertheless.

 

_You know, he really seems scary at first, but once you talk to him, it’s impossible to not notice the sweetness on his tone. He’s adorable! Just like you, Jae-ah. The only difference is that you’re adorable at first, then it turns out you’re actually a scary person!_

 

Youngjae felt uneasy remembering Jisun’s words and listening to her now, but she wasn’t done yet.

 

“Was it out of curiosity you’ve been asking how’s Jaebum doing everyday? Was it out of curiosity you’ve been seeking personal information about him? Was it out of curiosity that, the day he confessed, you’ve spent the whole night walking around the house not knowing what to do?!” She crossed her arms.

 

Both Bambam and Yugyeom dropped their chins seeing how daring Jisun looked; she was practically spitting fire, admitting she knew everything that had been going on and clearly amazed at his brother’s stupid logic. Youngjae himself couldn’t believe she was throwing such hard words at him nor that she knew about Jaebum’s feelings. Maybe the lawyer had told her some things, but Youngjae didn’t… So how did she know about his uneasiness? Such a scary lady…

 

“Yah! Choi Youngjae! Answer me!” Her tone was high-pitched and demanding, she didn’t waver not even seeing how Youngjae was paralysed. After taking a deep breath, she turned around to leave and gave her ultimatum. “The wedding is going to be in three days, make sure you clean up this mess in the meantime, you hear me?”

 

Youngjae gulped. He couldn’t protest. He couldn’t deny anything. He was speechless.

 

He wanted to scream everyone was wrong, but his emotions kept contradicting his actions, no matter how he wanted to be rational, that wish seemed unreachable at the given moment.

 

Or at any moment, since Jaebum walked into his life.

 

**(...)**

If Youngjae had to list the most awkward and awful moments of his life, then Jisun’s wedding ceremony would be at the top of his list. Nothing could beat the embarrassment of said day.

 

The problem was not the decoration, certainly. There were blooming pink flowers everywhere filling the place and they looked stunning, just like the tiny golden details arranged that mixed well with the white tones, because, after all, it was a typical wedding ceremony and it had to be at least a little discreet. The wedding would be outdoors, the place chosen by Youngjae was a bucolic garden surrounded that emanated good energy. The altar had been put under a wooden gazebo that Jaebum liked; there were white lights and tiny flowers there, not as eccentric as Youngjae wished it to be, but lovely nevertheless. Everything looked beautiful, it was almost like a dream come true, just like they planned - even the trees seemed perfectly placed.

 

The only thing out of place apparently was Youngjae.

 

But he shouldn’t be. His clothes weren’t the problem as well. The tuxedo fitted his body perfectly as if it has been made for him and his eye make-up looked stunning; even his earrings were matching his clothes since he choose them carefully instead of just wearing the usual (and cheaper) ones. It was a special day and he had to feel special as well, too bad it wasn’t working.

 

Maybe it was because of the guests - definitely the biggest part of the problem. Yugyeom and Bambam were there, still going on with the staring contest since Youngjae didn’t do anything after Jisun’s ultimatum. Jackson, Jinyoung and Mark showed up too, which was pretty much shocking, since the brunette knew very well their names weren’t on the list last time he saw it. None of the three treated Youngjae any different from usual, however, the meeting was very awkward since they most likely knew what happened between him and Jaebum. Deep down they probably blamed him for the past events, but it was helpless.

 

The raven-haired, by the way, hadn’t appeared yet, but Youngjae knew he was there helping Jisun with her dress. They were so close to each other sometimes it appeared they were the real siblings while Youngjae was just an outsider, but he tried to not feel bothered by it. He’d finally get rid of that feel Jaebum caused when the ceremony ended.

 

It wouldn’t take long. The wedding would last an hour and if the party wasn’t any good he could always excuse himself by pretending to be sick. He had everything planned so that he’d hang on and never have to deal with Jaebum again. This way they both would follow their paths peacefully and apart from each other, as it should be. The lawyer would probably find someone that could stand him blabbering for more than five seconds and fall in love with them, moving on from the stupid idea he was in love with Youngjae at last. He’d live a great life being the spoiled, despicable, weird human being he was and have a happy ending. Yay!

 

“Hurry up, kid, we’re about to get started!”

 

The ceremonialist snapped Youngjae out of his thoughts, making the latter sigh profoundly as he arranged his tie again. It never looked as good as when Jaebum did it, however, he couldn’t as the raven-haired for help this time.

 

Or ever again. Because after that day, they would be apart from each other forever. And Youngjae would finally prove everyone he was right.

 

**(...)**

 

The wedding ceremony, as expected, was quite boring. Ceremonies always are, they always last longer than expected due to unnecessary proceedings and never-ending speeches. It was pretty boring to watch someone who barely knew Jisun and Jonghyun talk about their love.... It lacked substance, significance. That priestess probably said the same things to every single couple she had to arrange together, always pointing out how people should be more understanding, how love is a magical feeling, perfect relationships, blah, blah, bullshit. Did she get that from a Nicholas Sparks’ book? Because, really, how could someone have such a delusional point of view about love? Youngjae wanted to puke, the only thing stopping him was the fact whenever his eyes landed on his sister and her groom looking at each other so lovingly, none of that mattered anymore, because that was real love. They were the only ones who knew the challenges they faced to get there, since love is not always kind. Their glances silently told a story full of ups and downs, far away from being a perfect one, but that’s what made it real.

 

Youngjae loved love stories, but only the one who were depicted truly. He knew love wasn’t about romance, it was about effort. Loving someone and giving your everything doesn’t come as naturally as books make it seem. No one wakes up and decides to give up on their nature and beliefs just because they’re in a relationship. People are selfish. Jisun didn’t like Jonghyun from the beginning and neither did he, no love at first sight or sparkling eyes when they met. On the opposite, they fought like cat and rat even when they started dating - it was almost unbearable to be around them. Either they were having the time of their lives or living a real life hell, but the thing was… They never let go of each other. They always made an effort to make their bounding work, no matter what hardships appeared on the way.

 

Jaebum was sitting beside Youngjae, but their eyes never met. He wondered for a moment if he would be able to be what Jonghyun was to his sister- always waiting for her to come back when she wants to run away, always patiently willing to talk to her even if she didn’t want to.

 

Jisun has always been a tough one. Youngjae loved her deeply, but the woman became completely crazy when she wanted to piss someone off. She was childish, spoiled and always complained about everything- dealing with her could be a nightmare even on her best days. However, even at her worst, Jonghyun was always understanding. Even when Jisun had a running nose due to rhinitis and looked like crap, he’d always smile and embrace her.

 

But that’s not because he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Things don’t work like that in real life, but once Jonghyun explained how they did.

 

_Honestly, Jisun is not even close to the woman of my dreams… When I think about it, I’d much rather date someone who understood my thoughts on Van Gogh or Monet- of course, those things are important when we idealize someone._

_But I loved Jisun because she was real, not because she was made just for me. Because she doesn’t know how to appreciate works of art, therefore not seeing things the way I do, I love her. Even when the day I meet the woman of my dreams comes, the one that has hands that fits in mine perfectly, that has lips sculpted just to kiss mine… I wouldn’t want her._

_Because when I look at your sister, I look at all her flaws, even more than her qualities, but all I can see is the person who has been with me for all this time and never let me go, even after looking at my own flaws and qualities. It doesn’t feel like we belong together, however, it doesn’t has to. I don’t have to fantasize about the woman of my dreams when I have the woman of my life._

_And it’s her, because she wasn’t meant to be._

 

Youngjae smiled softly remembering those words; his glance stopped at Jaebum again. Jisun and Jonghyun would be exchanging wedding vows soon, which meant the raven-haired had to do his speech before that. He’d be the only one to talk this time, since there wasn’t much time left, and the brunette was secretly curious about what would he say.

 

Jaebum’s legs were shaking in a steady rhythm, up and down, reassuring how nervous he was. He had a folded paper on his hands which looked very messy and had some poor handwriting filling it. His forehead looked shiny, even shinier than his pink tuxedo and that was _a lot_. His hair was pushed back and his eyes were fixed on Jisun. He looked so proud, but at the same time it felt like he was afraid to fail her.

 

Youngjae had high expectations on Jaebum’s speech, the latter knew his sister’s love story, so it would probably be more entertaining that the boring priestess. The younger couldn’t understand why his heart was racing so much nor why were his hands so sweaty, but, still, he was looking forward to the following moment.

 

His mind traveled back to the day Jaebum confessed. Would his words be as sweet as they were back then? Could he wish for the happiness of the couple even though he was always so bitter just like he did before?

 

“Now…” The priestess started to announce, her wide smile made her look very scary but Youngjae couldn’t really pay attention. “Let’s hear what one of the best men have to say! Please give a round of applause to… Im Jaebum!”

 

Everyone clapped soundly. Youngjae watched Jaebum uneasy semblant as he stood up and went to the center of the altar. Jinyoung, Mark and Jackson were also paying attention to his friend’s awkwardness as he fixed his tie and looked at the paper one last time.

 

He unfolded it rapidly, Jisun and Jonghyun had their eyes locked on his hands, but then, after the lawyer stared at his handwriting for a few seconds, he sighed and threw the note away. It was the first time his eyes landed on Youngjae, but he didn’t seem upset at all.

 

As a matter of fact, his lips curved upwards, showing a timid smile as soon as Youngjae reciprocated the look.

 

_He had finally realized it_.

 

“When noona and hyung invited me to be their best man, at first I thought they were out of their minds.” The beginning of the speech made everyone laugh, especially the said couple. Jaebum himself had to restrain himself to keep the serious face, and of course he succeeded - was there anything that man couldn’t do? “I knew nothing about love back then, so how was I supposed to talk about it for more than five seconds? I was so desperate I even asked my friend Jinyoung there to help me. He gave me a book called _Romance for Dummies_ to see if I could learn something.” Jaebum pointed at Jinyoung, whose face became as red as a tomato when everyone’s eyes searched for him. Luckily Mark was there to calm him down and held his hand tightly. _Jinyoungie gets embarrassed so easily it’s cute!_ , the boyfriend would say, giggling. “And I did. I’ve gotten pretty good at this metaphor thing and I wrote them all down on the paper I just threw away, so I’m sorry you guys won’t get the nicest speech in the world here. I knew it would be better if I could say the inspiring things the book had taught me, but I’ll say from my personal experience instead. A three-month experience that made up for a lifetime.”

 

His eyes were still looking at Youngjae as he kept going.

 

“I’ve always thought love was stupid- it never reached me, therefore there was no reason to believe in it. I’ve seen the purest and truest forms of love but I had never felt it. And never thought I would, until I met the person that changed my life.” His gaze lowered for an instant, probably afraid he’d sound too cheesy, but luckily it didn’t last. The cringe was at a bearable level. “It’s funny when I say this person _changed_ my life, others tend to think it was for better, well, I’ve got some bad news for you… It wasn’t good at all. No kissing, no fireworks, no explosions. No red string of fate as well. The right person doesn’t walk into your life wrapped like a present, unfortunately. It seems like love tends to be very discreet, unlike me, considering I’m dressed in this sparkling pink tuxedo instead of a normal one. But that’s what love has given me: no sense of fashion and a very warm heart.”

 

Youngjae smiled looking at his own golden and glittery clothing. He just kept realizing his own feelings while Jaebum admited his once again. Every word the raven-haired said hit Youngjae immediately. _Him_. Humanity’s worst scum, the most imperfect man on Earth, that walked into his life as one of destiny’s tricks, was there to stay. Even if he had to wear a stupid tuxedo to do so. Even if he had to embarrass himself in front of everyone so that his feelings could be let out again.

 

“The old Jaebum wouldn’t wear this not even if his life was at stake, but rather than changed, I’m _shaped_. Because truth is love doesn’t change anyone, I’m still bitter as hell and if I could use more time to rant on how I hate this outfit I would go on forever, however… I’m shaped now. Not because I  want to be the best version of myself, which honestly was the old Jaebum, but because I want to become someone worthy of the person I like, even though it’s slightly different from the way I’d like to be.”

 

Jisun was teary-eyed when she placed his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder. Jackson held Bambam’s hand lovingly, as if his life depended on it. Mark was still looking at Jinyoung as if he was the only person in the world. Yugyeom was crying as he hugged his earphones, but love is love, in all sizes and shapes. We’re not here to judge.

 

And Youngjae… He was happy. As he’d never been before.

 

Realization struck him fast. Soon he realized the bothering feeling messing his insides was love, a growing sensation he refused to accept because it has never been a part of his equations. He realized how comforting was to have someone who wasn’t made just for him, but that wanted to be better shaped. He noticed Jaebum, with all his flaws, was worth it. All this time Youngjae had been blinded by reason and idealization of a perfect answers. But perfection doesn’t exist.

 

Jaebum does, though.

 

And he was right in front of him.

 

“I didn’t feel comfortable with the thought of being in love at first, but soon I realized how amazing it was. Love doesn’t have limits. It’s going to keep you awake for nights, listening to a playlist with the best love songs of the 70s while fantasizing how nice it would be to adopt cats with your special someone. Only to make you frustrated when you find out your special someone is actually allergic to them, but it’s fine. Frustration is actually an understatement, love is going to make you feel things worse than that. In the end, you learn not everyone is as perfect as Im Jaebum, but sometimes they’re worth it.” Jaebum laughed, making everyone do the same again. “It doesn’t matter your special one won’t live up to your expectations because you can create something better than expectations together. The more you give yourself to love, the more concrete it becomes. I used to think I was stubborn, but love showed me a whole different level. No one can fight this feeling, it cannot be killed or swept aside. When it exists, it always lasts.”

 

Jaebum wasn’t the right person for Youngjae.

 

He didn’t know anything about Physics and Astrology, he was a cocky lawyer, too skeptical, too judgmental, a person who took life too seriously to enjoy a great time. He was always on time, always had his hair fixed perfectly, his clothes were neat to the point he could get hit by a truck and they’d never wrinkle, he had an unhealthy obsession for money and the way his jaw clenched whenever he got angry probably meant he should see a doctor (it was always clenching). He had too many flaws to count, yet Youngjae couldn’t point out not even a single quality.

 

If the brunette had to choose his ideal type- a bohemian, maybe? A person that wandered freely, one step at a time, not always thinking about the future so carefully, not afraid of defending what they thought it was worth fighting for. Someone who had a free spirit just like him. Eco-friendly would be nice as well. Maybe a Neil deGrasse Tyson fan.

 

Jaebum was way, _way_ different from that, but he was the person Youngjae wanted by his side, even if he wasn’t meant to be. Because even though that lawyer represented everything the brunette despised, he could still make him smile wearing that stupid sparkling pink tuxedo, he could still amaze him showing he was a D’Angelo fan with b-boying skills, he could be the wrong answer to his equations, but Youngjae didn’t want the right one.

 

Jaebum was nothing like the brunette pictured, but he was real.

 

It took so long for Youngjae to realize and accept his own feelings it still felt unbelievable. They were so different from each other, yet how they felt was the same. It contradicted Youngjae’s calculations and predictions completely. Jaebum existed to break all the rules of the universe with a smile plastered on his face, saying the most cheesy things in the world but still looking like a God. He was one hell of a stubborn contradiction.

 

And Youngjae had learned to cherish every tiny piece of him.

 

“So… I think we’re coming to a conclusion. You probably won’t see me again after this speech since I’ll kill myself right after, however, I want to tell you to never stop believing in love. Love is the closest thing we have to magic, and I didn’t even think magic existed, but love made me a believer. And I hope it does the same to you, otherwise it’ll fuck you up- I mean, am I supposed to say that at a religious ceremony? Dunno. Anyway, that’s it. Thanks for listening to me. I wish Jisun-noona and Jonghyun-hyung find happiness wherever they look for it, just like I did.”

 

Jaebum got back to his seat and Youngjae kept looking at him. He felt so relieved to have realized, so at ease his hands reached to hold the lawyer’s at the same time Jisun and Jonghyun started to exchange the vows.

 

Just like that love story, theirs were also real.

 

“I’d say I’m more a 80s kind of guy, also, I’m sorry I’m allergic to cats…” Youngjae smiled. Jaebum seemed to be caught off guard, yet he smiled back in no time. “But ABBA is from the 70s and we could always adopt a dog. If you still want to.”

 

“I do.”

 

**(...)**

They looked like two comets, golden and sparkling pink, dancing in the middle of way more discreet couples - maybe those were the stars. Jaebum’s hands were on Youngjae’s waist while the younger’s were placed around his neck, caressing his nape every now and then.

 

And their pace was fast; they always bumped on Mark and Jinyoung, that were trying very hard to have a healing time, just the two of them. Each bump earned Jaebum a death glare from his best friend, but, honestly, he couldn’t care less. The song playing was D’Angelo’s Lady (Yugyeom was DJing skills was indeed very good), his jam since middle school. Jinyoung could go there stab him and he’d still be swaying with his _special someone_ happily.

 

Bambam and Jackson, on the other side, were too cool for slow music, so they were eating meat together because, luckily, Jaebum was the one who chose the menu, therefore there would be no traits of vegan food anywhere.

 

Ok, maybe some vegan plates were put on it. In case Youngjae got hungry.

**I'm tired of hiding what we feel**

**I'm trying to get with the real**

**And I'm-a gonna make it known**

**'Cause I want them to know**

**You're my lady**

 

“So this is your favorite song?” Youngjae teased, deep down finding pretty cute that Jaebum liked such a romantic song. He had read the lyrics at least a gazillion times to analyze it and grew to enjoy the song as well.

 

“Surprised?”

 

“A bit. It’s a cheesy one, so maybe you had always have this hidden side.” The younger decided to let go of the provoking tone, so he rested his head on Jaebum’s shoulder as they continued to dance. The raven-haired’s cologne was addicting so Youngjae couldn’t help but breath against his skin as he closed his eyes and brought himself closer. “But I guess everything you do always surprises me.”

 

“Really? Because you were the one that made _goodbye-forever_ pancakes here.” Jaebum giggled, lifting one of his hands to run it through Youngjae’s soft hair.

 

“That’s nothing compared to the things you do.” The brunette kissed Jaebum’s neck caringly. He had been showering the older with some affection to make up for the lost time, scooting closer to him as if they were going to merge. “You are always sincere, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize, hyung.”

 

“You know I would’ve keep feeling this way even if you had never realized, right? And I’d never regret it, so no need to be sorry. Being here is enough.”

 

“We’re not the best definition of love, are we? Not star-crossed lovers, not soulmates… Nothing idealized, right?” Youngjae held Jaebum more tightly as he said those words.

 

Jaebum had become great at reading between the lines. He noticed by the younger’s tone, his face buried on his neck, how he felt a bit insecure defining what kind of lovers they were. They sure weren’t meant to be. Jaebum had also accepted that. But that’s not what mattered at the moment.

 

“But we’re also my favorite definition.” Youngjae concluded after a moment of hesitation. He was sure, it was just that saying it out loud still felt a bit embarrassing; his ears were crimson red and he was glad Jaebum wasn’t looking him in the eyes, this way he could keep taking. “Because it’s not perfect, it’s not reasonable, but it’s us. It’s not even romantic, but it’s something I care for, that I want to have for a long time. I’ve learned to cherish that.”

 

“The same way you cherish me?” Jaebum asked, playfully making a reference to his own confession some days ago.

 

Youngjae then lifted his flushed face to look at Jaebum.

 

Jaebum was the man who would never be his ideal one. The man who was still there, willing to make an effort to stay. The only one Youngjae wanted to be by his side, who made his heart race just by being himself - a cocky lawyer, Mr. Knows-it-all, a contradiction for all his predictions… Humanity’s worst scum. Who would guess he was going to be the chosen one?

 

He was the most unexpected variable on Youngjae’s life, but he wanted him to become a constant.

 

“Nothing could ever compare to the way I feel towards you. This is part of me… You’re the only one who gets to see it, because you bring the most unexpected emotions of me. But in the end of the day... Good or bad... I’ll still want to be with you. And that’s what it should be like.”

 

Because love isn’t about finding your ideal type, it’s not about perfection, it’s not about destiny or movie-like relationships. There’s no thing about soulmates in this world.

 

What we have are imperfect people willing to make an effort for each other.

 

And, sometimes, it’s worth it.

 

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAAAY SO IT'S FINISHED. Almost.   
> There’s still a bonus chapter which is going to be basically smut with a plot (picturing the couple life after everything that happened), but idk when i'll post it... Maybe next week? Anyways.   
> Thanks for reading my story! ^^ Bye~~


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